Dynamics of the `field': multiple standpoints, narrative and shifting positionality in multisited research

Soni-Sinha, Urvashi

doi:10.1177/1468794108093898

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…In this instance it is evident that I was performing multiple 'roles' and occupying multiple 'positions', the combination of which raises ethical implications for the data utilized and the argument outlined in this article (Soni-Sinha, 2008). This tripartite positionality, facilitator/former prisoner/researcher, coupled with my mixed ethnicity, gender and social class (what Earle (2013: 18) has referred to as the 'persistent trialities of social science'), afforded me a great deal of personal access and enabled prisoners to 'open up' about their issues and experiences in ways they may not have if my 'cultural competence' (Hodkinson, 2005: 138) was not recognized, if there were not some shared experiences and the acknowledgement that our role there was to help improve the lives of those who inhabited the prison.…”

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confidence: 99%

The deprivation of certitude, legitimacy and hope: Foreign national prisoners and the pains of imprisonment

Warr

2016

Criminology & Criminal Justice

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confidence: 99%

The deprivation of certitude, legitimacy and hope: Foreign national prisoners and the pains of imprisonment

Warr

2016

Criminology & Criminal Justice

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“…Several qualitative researchers have demonstrated interest in studying up to the elite and how this affects access (Becker and Aiello 2013;Conti and O'Neil 2007;Forsythe 1999;Ho 2012;Nader [1969Nader [ ] 1972Shore 2002). Among scholars using qualitative field methods, attending to the researcher's position illuminates her simultaneous positions as both an insider and an outsider within the field site (Casper 1997;Merton 1972;Soni-Sinha 2008;Traweek 1992;Turgo 2012aTurgo , 2012b and how accessing the field site influences research results (Casper 1997;Turgo 2012a). Only a few scholars have considered the ethnographer's multiple hierarchical status positions in comparison to her or his interlocutors (Bowman 2009;Hannerz 2006;Nader [1969Nader [ ] 1972Reinhold 1994).…”

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confidence: 99%

Mapping Superpositionality in Global Ethnography

Williams

2017

Science, Technology, & Human Values

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Science studies scholars often study up to high-tech elites who produce and design scientific knowledge and technology. Methodological tension begins when you pair a desire to study down to less economically developed countries, with the desire to study up to high-tech elites within them. This becomes further complicated when the ethnographer and his/her informants share professional interests and credentials. In these situations, the researcher has high status because of geopolitical privilege. However, the researcher is neither a high-tech elite nor a local cultural elite. How might the ethnographer successfully access and navigate field sites imbued with these unseen power differentials? There are currently no visual mapping tools to enhance the process of reflexivity by feminist ethnographers, as they consider their globally embedded multiple, hierarchical, and situated positionality. This reflection methodology piece provides a tool to consider this phenomenon, as it exists across the Global North/South divide of power. Such a tool would be useful to northern ethnographers to better strategize ethics and access while avoiding complicity with structures of inequality and empowering their southern interlocutors.

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Section: Positionality and The Construction Of Whitenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Positionality, particularly in sociological terms, is talked about in the context of the inherent power structures that are embedded within our social, political, economic, and ideological systems in relation to others with whom we human beings share this world (Anthias, 2002;Martin & Gunten, 2002;Milner, 2007;Muhammad et al, 2015;Relles, 2016;Soni-Sinha, 2008). Specifically, the power structures referred to in this study are central to white-identified individuals and their experiences within the context of selfidentifying as white, as opposed to individuals who identify as POC (Anthias, 2002;Brewer & Heitzeg, 2008;Martin & Gunten, 2002;Milner, 2007;Muhammad et al, 2015;Relles, 2016;Soni-Sinha, 2008;Tillery, 2009). These imbalanced systemic power relations are evident in networks of crime and punishment, educational (in)equity, healthcare accessibility, and good, viable jobs-and the ways that societal advantages are allocated to white-identified communities as opposed to those of POC identity (Brewer & Heitzeg, 2008;Dache-Gerbino & White, 2016; T. L. Green & Dantley, 2013;Manglitz, 2003;Staurowsky, 2007;Todd, Suffrin, McConnell, Odahl-Ruan, 2015;& van Gorder, 2007).…”

Section: Positionality and The Construction Of Whitenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to studies concerning white-identified individuals' challenges to understanding their whiteness, research has attempted to identify power structures inherent in educational environments, as well as political and economic systems. Each of these power structures appropriate labor and/or knowledge from Black and Brown bodies, while eventually leading to incarceration in an increasingly punitive system that is specifically aimed toward POC (Alexander, 2004;Becker & Paul, 2015;Boatright-Horowitz, Marraccini, & Harps-Logan, 2012;Brewer & Heitzeg, 2008;Chizhik & Chizhik, 2005;Chubbuck, 2004;Dutta et al, 2016;Eversman, 2014;Galman, Pica-Smith, & Rosenberger, 2010; T. L. Green & Dantley, 2013;Heiner, 2016;Larson, 2016;Manglitz, 2003;Milner, 2007;Mintz, 2013;Muhammad et al, 2015;Relles, 2016;Robinson & Culver, 2016;Soni-Sinha, 2008;Zufferey, 2013).…”

Section: Positionality and The Construction Of Whitenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Whiteness of the Elephant in the Room

Foran¹

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Using frameworks from critical race theory, social movement theory, and community-based activism, this thesis explores the phenomena of white fragility, white guilt, and colorblind racial ideology and how they impact the ways predominantly whiteidentified social and environmental justice organizations approach, build, and maintain solidarity with communities of color in Santa Cruz County, California. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate the experiences of white-identified activists and how they attempt to engage in this constantly challenging process. Using twenty-two semi-structured interviews and eight group observations, I explored how white-identified individuals negotiate the transformation from 'moral passivity' to meaningful, personal relationships with people of color (POC). The research shows remarkable differences in responses by white-identified individuals in public space (implicit bias/overtly racialized comments) versus private space (self-reflection, drive toward self-education, willingness to forge authentic relationships with POC). The research also uncovers possible implications for how the intrapersonal dismantling of racialized thought systems on an individual basis may impact group coalition-building processes. More research is warranted, however, in the exploration of how these implications may translate to concrete strategies in the toolkits of predominantly white-identified environmental and social justice organizations. v ACKNLOWLEDGMENTS Without the help and support of the many individuals involved, this modest body of research would not have been possible. First, I would like to extend my gratitude to my life partner and spouse Gerald Francis Casel, who was, and is presently, an inspiration and a pillar of strength during a time when I thought I couldn't return to school or even think about completing a graduate program. Next, I want to express my deepest appreciation to my thesis chair, Dr. Jason Douglas, who encouraged me, through the many incarnations of thesis proposals, to take the ball on this project and run with it. The breadth and depth of his dedication to the most marginalized communities among us never cease to amaze me and keep me rooted to these ideals as my lodestar. Thanks also to Dr. Will Russell, not only for the mountainside philosophical discussions, but also for the patience and keen eye which were invaluable in the preening out of all the unnecessary material that eventually led me to this project. Thanks go as well to Dr. Natalie Boero, whose impeccable ability to ask the right questions and whose unparalleled skill in qualitative investigation dropped enough breadcrumbs my way to lead me out of the forest right into her office so I could complete my thesis committee. I am grateful and in awe of the many ways that each of you inspire your students. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Dynamics of the `field': multiple standpoints, narrative and shifting positionality in multisited research

Cited by 33 publications

References 30 publications

The deprivation of certitude, legitimacy and hope: Foreign national prisoners and the pains of imprisonment

The deprivation of certitude, legitimacy and hope: Foreign national prisoners and the pains of imprisonment

Mapping Superpositionality in Global Ethnography

The Whiteness of the Elephant in the Room

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