In
Fictions of Feminist Ethnography, Visweswaran discusses confronting biases of
Western women in the context of doing ethnography. She describes the various
ways that we take up Western biases and engage in colonizing activities for
Western audiences. For example, she describes her concept of examining silence.
She tells of instances in her research where the women she interviews leave key
pieces of information out of tape recorded interviews, refuse to be interviewed
altogether, or weave creative ways of telling the author about their
experiences so as to be more in control of their narrative. She
reconceptualizes this silence as resistance to Western colonization through
research. More specifically in regards to colonization, Visweswaran describes a
Western colonizer’s voyeuristic mindset in their expectation to discover,
produce knowledge of, be able to speak for, use conquest language, and know
everything there is to know about non-Western cultures. She also critiques
common research practices such as transparency and questions if this is truly
enough to be accountable to communities.
This can
be applied to my field of study because disability studies is frequently
criticized for being too Western-centric. Although there are a few studies done
regarding disability in non-western countries such as disability in the global
south and research with immigrant and refugee communities, the foundations of
disability studies been largely created and forwarded by white men with mild
physical disabilities. I also see very little research on experiences of
disabled women from non-western countries and the barriers they face. Our
theories, models, policies, practices, and issue focuses reflect these largely
Western conceptualizations of disability. Moving beyond Western understandings
of disability will be important to the growth of disability studies as a field.
However, it is also important to be cognizant that this is in itself a
colonizing mindset and so will need to be reflexive about our research
practices. For example, disability studies needs to consider how to incorporate
decolonizing practices while at the same time addressing accessibility-related
barriers, avoid essentializing these disability communities, hearing silence
and reflecting on what this means in terms of having differing types and levels
of oppression, and should not conduct ourselves using colonizer behavior.
The idea
of silence as resistance is especially interesting to me from a research
standpoint. Much like the author, I frequently interview or work with
disability activists who often tell their stories a certain way or even seem to
leave certain pieces of their lives out that reflects the way they see reality
and allow them control over conceptualizing themselves. In these cases, I think
it is important as a researcher to hear those silences. Typically, I would
think of these interviews as lacking depth and work to ask the right questions
that probe for more information. However, there is the possibility that the
participants may be trying to approach the research on their own terms. In
these cases, trying to overcome their resistance or subdue through mastery of
language could be considered a form of colonialization. It also provides a new
perspective regarding the importance of ethical aspects of research such as
informed consent and telling participants they do not need to answer any
questions they do not want to answer.
Fictions of Feminist Ethnography is
useful in providing critical perspectives on ethnography and provides real
experiences, dilemmas, and questions that she faced while doing research with Southern
Indian people and gives beginning researchers ideas about the history of
ethnography, some of the mistakes that have been made, and some of the ways to
be more accountable to these communities. While I understand that it is geared
towards an anthropologist audience, I think that this would be a difficult book
for some disability studies students to understand given its often complex
language. This book would most likely be most beneficial to read when students
first have a more firm understanding of ethnography and the different types of
ethnography that can be done.
Discussion
questions:
What are some
other ways that we can decolonize research, scholarship, and practice?
What are the
steps beyond transparency that we need to take to be accountable to communities
in decolonization?
Are there
additional considerations for other types of research methods that we need to
be aware of when trying to decolonize research?
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