Decolonizing Methodologies- Kim The

In Decolonizing Methodologies, one of the topics that Smith covers is positionality. I think of positionality as the way the researcher is situated and how this informs their perspectives and the lens they view the world through. I think this is an important concept for researchers and for working through their methodology for any given project. Smith describes herself as an outsider-within, drawing on writings from various women of color such as Gloria Anzaldua and her concept of borderlands in addition to bell hooks and “the radical possibility of choosing the margins.” She also discussed how when she was learning how to do research, she felt like there were classes and texts that taught researchers from the outside how to do research with communities. However, she discussed an added layer of complexity of being an outsider-within because of her position as a researcher. She discusses examples where she had long-term relationships with community members that would change when she came into their houses for research purposes. She details that she would notice that community members’ homes would be clean when she came to interview them for research, indicating to her a means of designating her as an outsider while she was in her research role. As a disabled scholar who is doing research with the disability community, I resonate with this idea of the outsider-within as a start to defining my positionality. I have also similarly encountered situations where community members have approached me in different ways depending on whether I was there as an occupational therapy student, researcher, or activist. My research interests are in using community-based participatory research to develop pathways for people of color with disabilities as peer health navigators (or peer support for navigating the healthcare system). Many discussions related to power have emerged related to this line of work, more specifically discussions around professionalism, expert knowledge, and histories of disabled communities being exploited for research. One of the roles of a disability studies scholar is to be a bridge between academia and the community. I know this can be a very difficult thing for me to do at times and so I also wonder if some of our disabled peer health navigators also feel a similar sort of tension- this sense of being sandwiched in the middle by working in oppressive systems while at the same time being able to sense the possibilities that could arise as part of this work. Is this an important question to them? I think it is also difficult for me to see certain community perspectives while playing the researcher role but later come to this understanding of through my lens as a disabled person, which is also something that I continue to struggle with. However, Smith provides many helpful suggestions for decolonizing research that are applicable to working with disability communities such as aligning research with community priorities, collaborative decision making, having honest conversations about the nature of oppression and research, and transparency.

Smith’s book is useful to me because it opens up possibilities for how to better do emancipatory or decolonizing research in ways where we do not perpetuate oppression of marginalized groups. This book is limiting in the sense that it does not apply to disability communities. Even so, each disability community is different, so it will require reflection on my part as to whether one suggestion from the book will work for the community I am a part of. Likewise, I also need to be mindful of the fact that there is no cookbook solution to doing research with communities and that it is an ongoing, collaborative process where mistakes are inevitable. Hopefully with good, sustainable relationships we will be able to work through disagreements or conflicts. 

            I think that in order to be able to do research with communities, you first need to have an understanding of who you are and where you stand in relation to the community. This is important for understanding power relationships and how to do better emancipatory and decolonizing research. Then once you have defined your positionality, you can begin to question what research you have chosen to do and why in addition to underlying assumptions behind your research. Because I have just started my PhD journey, I look forward to exploring my positionality and methodology for this line of work.