Constituting Phenomena Through Intra-Action and Intentionality: Is a Posthumanist Phenomenology Possible?

For those interested in infusing posthumanist theories in qualitative research, the use of the term “phenomena” within the long-standing tradition of phenomenology and Barad’s agential realism creates a tricky linguistic tangle. Barad is adamant that any association with phenomenology is unwanted, yet the particulars of how agential realist phenomena and phenomenological phenomena are different can be difficult to parse. In this piece, we seek to offer some clarity by interrogating how Barad and phenomenologists inspired by Husserl’s body of work engage with the concepts of phenomena, (non)mediation, intentionality, and experience. Through following these concepts around in primary and secondary texts, we begin to envision what a posthumanist phenomenology might entail.