First Precepts for Democracy and Research Practices in Ethnic Studies

Abstract

Recent discussions by leading scholars in interdisciplinary fields, notably cultural studies, suggest the limitations of critique for producing intelligent practices for social change and have called for thinking anew about the practices of intellectual labor. In this essay, I call attention to research methodology as a form of intellectual labor and examine the importance of explicit methodological and critical research practices in interdisciplinary fields such as ethnic studies. I suggest that method in ethnic studies, currently an admixture of conventions from disciplines adapted for interdisciplinary research, would be strengthened with a more holistic methodological framework. I explore the potential for a more holistic framework by drawing on the philosophical underpinnings, and not simply the technique, of participatory action research (PAR). I examine the pragmatist origins of PAR and explore the potential for drawing on three methodological precepts—iteration, collaboration, and reflections—which are highly resonant with ethnic studies scholars’ desired aims at transformative scholarship.