Decolonizing Methodologies - Jozi Chaet

Josephine Chaet

GWS 502.01 – Feminist Knowledge Production

Professor Naber

Blog Post One – Decolonizing Methodologies

January 10, 2017

Relevance of the Text to Research Generally

Though Tuihwai Smith’s explicit discussion concerning the role of research within indigenous struggles for social justice is explored in detail throughout the penultimate chapter of the text, the consideration of the intersections between social justice, indigenous activism, and both indigenous and non-indigenous research is an underlying theme throughout much of the book. Nevertheless, the following post primarily focuses on Tuhiwai Smith’s presentation of the concept of struggle as a tool of social activism and of theory that is contained within chapter eleven. In doing so, this post endeavors to explore the implications of that discussion, and address the way in which it relates to my own developing research.

Prior to moving into a discussion of Tuhiwai Smith’s analysis of the association between research and activism, and the implications of that work, it is useful to first provide a brief summary of the book as a whole, in an effort to appropriately position the contents of this post. Over the course of Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, Tuhiwai Smith presents a critique of the evolution of the Western concert of research throughout much of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In doing so, Tuhiwai Smith examines the effects of such research upon the indigenous communities in which that work has historically been conducted, and articulates an understanding of research as a significant site of struggle “between the interests and ways of knowing of the West and the interests and ways of knowing of the Other” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 31). Consequently, Tuhiwai Smith suggests that the pursuit of knowledge and the construction of research is “deeply embedded in the multiple layers of imperial and colonial practices” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 32). Thus, Tuhiwai Smith illuminates the continuous impact of imperialism upon the work produced within the academy, broadly writ. Moreover, Tuhiwai Smith articulates a revised research agenda that attempts to address some of the general issues associated with the existing research method. As a result, Tuhiwai Smith mediates between the process of doing research and the place of both indigenous societies and indigenous researchers within that work, ultimately examining the possibilities of research for indigenous communities.

Within that over-arching discussion, then, is Tuhiwai Smith’s particular examination of struggle, and its function within the context of social justice. Tuhiwai Smith begins the penultimate chapter of the text by revisiting the concept of a struggle and examining the way in which social change is related to struggle. Specifically, Tuhiwai Smith states that “in its broadest sense struggle is…what life feels like when people are trying to survive in the margins, in seek freedom and better conditions, to seek social justice” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 315). As a result, Tuhiwai Smith suggests that struggle is a “tool that has the potential to enable oppressed groups to embrace and mobilize agency, and to turn the consciousness of injustice into strategies for change” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 317). In turn, struggle can be “mobilized as resistance and as transformation” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 317), and in doing so can contribute to the achievement of social transformation. In addition to the role of struggle in the advancement of social change, however, Tuhiwai Smith posits that the concept of struggle provides a theoretical tool that can be used to make sense of the process of social change (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 318). In particular, Tuhiwai Smith contends that when everyday struggle is theorized, it has the potential to become an effective and “powerful strategy for transformation” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 319). In struggling to develop my own work in a neat way, I have spent some time considering the theoretical lens(es) through which I can understand my research; Tuhiwai Smith’s understanding of struggle thus spoke to some of the abstract questions that I have been mulling over, and provided one potential way to address those internal inquiries.

Applications to Real of Imagined Projects

Broadly, my research examines the intersection between violence, law, and local advocacy in the Middle East; specifically, the work that I am beginning this summer focuses on the capacity for female activism and civil society in Jordan since the nation’s independence in the mid-twentieth century, through the lens of honor-based violence. In developing this project, I have spent time contemplating an appropriate and sustainable theoretical paradigm that will at once be applicable and thought provoking. While Tuhiwai Smith’s discussion of struggle as a theoretical tool is not directly related to my own work, the notion of struggle as a lens through which it is possible to understand agency and social change, as well as the intersection between the community and the academy, provides a possible foundation upon which it is possible to understand the work of female activists throughout Jordan in relation to and in opposition of the interests of the modern Jordanian state. Thus, while my position as a research is not one of a native or an indigenous academic, Decolonizing Methodologies, and particularly Tuhiwai Smith’s discussion of the concept of struggle, has given me a theoretical framework that will assist in my process of thinking critically about the way in which I frame the work that I do as a researcher, which will undoubtedly be interrogated and questioned as we move into Fictions of Feminist Ethnography next week.

Discussion Question

Questions that I am thinking about going forward –

In what ways does positionality impact the theoretical framework that is used, or the framework that can be used effectively?

What is the relationship between struggle and activism, and the place of research within that relationship? If theorizing the politics and pedagogy of struggle is the role of “activist scholars and organic intellectuals” (Tuhiwai Smith 2012, 318), is it possible to theorize and research effectively from a position outside of the indigenous community? Is it enough to be conscious of the intersections between indigenous struggle, activism, and research in order to conduct work effectively? How can I position myself in a meaningful way that permits me to answer the questions that I have posed?