ABSTRACT
The notion of being able to give a brief introduction to critical race theory (CRT), not to mention its relationships to narrative inquiry and educational research, reminds me of a seemingly unrelated book I read years ago. It was entitled Kierkegaard in a Nutshell (Van de Weyer, 1997), and was part of the Philosophers of the Spirit series, which included discussions of Hildegard, Pascal, and Socrates. On the first page of the introduction, Van de Weyer noted that Kierkegaard "was not an easy writer; his arguments are complex, his logic often tortuous and prone to unexpected leaps, and his prose frequently repetitive" (p. 9). In the same way that Van de Weyer attempted to present a brief but clear overview and summary of a great deal of difficult and challenging work, I have attempted here to do the same with critical race theory and its relationships to narrative inquiry and educational research. However, Van de Weyer had 90 pages in which to accomplish his task, whereas I very much doubt that any reader of this book has the time to work their way through 90 pages of CRT, narrative inquiry, and educational research. I have, then, attempted to be as focused and as selective as possible, which will, by definition, lead to omissions. But in return, my goal is to present a more accessible and more manageable introduction to these areas than most that I have come across.
