ABSTRACT
I now wish to introduce the second tier of data analysis. This lies in parallel to the plotlines I have already described, as I will be using the same interviews, but refracting them through a Foucauldian lens in the form of a genealogy. Foucault’s revisioning of Nietzsche in his description of genealogy provides some methodological pointers (1984a, 1984b), but certainly not a methodological blueprint. A Foucauldian genealogy cannot therefore be defi ned or framed as a closed method for research. Recognising the uncharted territory involved, I proceed cautiously and suggest that this genealogy considers how the Christian subject learns the truth about and within him/herself, and engages in a process of self-modifi cation and self-construction. However, to be clear, I will fi rst explain what a genealogy entails, as well as an overview of Foucault’s work relevant to this analysis. This also provides the theoretical spine of the project.
