Methodological Issues and Challenges for a Feminist Community Psychology: An Introduction to a Special Issue

Abstract

This is the second of two special issues of AJCP on feminism and community psychology, which were developed as an initiative of the Women's Committee of the Society for Community Research and Action. The purpose of these special issues is to illustrate the commonalties shared by feminist and community approaches, ways in which each field can be used to inform the other, and the challenges and successes each field has faced in living up to its values. In Part I we presented articles that dealt with specific topics that can be usefully understood and addressed through feminist approaches. In Part II (this issue) we chose articles that investigate the role of methods in a feminist community psychology.As Mary Crawford and Ellen Kimmel write, ''we cannot unlink what we know from how we know it' ' (1999, p. 3). It is this relationship that we wish to examine in this special issue: the relationship between how we gain knowledge and the kinds of realities that knowledge is used to construct.While working to conceptualize the issues involved in a feminist community psychology, we identified seven themes that we think represent 1

Practicing what we teach? An autobiographical reflection on navigating academia as a single mother

“…Organizing forums for undergraduate students on preparing graduate school applications represents a combination of teaching and departmental service. Community psychology's prioritization and valuation of action-research (e.g., see Hill, Bond, Mulvey, & Terenzio, 2000;Primavera & Brodsky, 2004) would help to encourage synergistic scholarship, as the process of conducting action-research, particularly that which involves students, blends teaching, research, and service. As experiential learning is increasingly valued in college and university settings (Peterson, 2009), there is the increasing possibility that action-research will be seen as synergistic scholarship in the academy.…”

Adopting a feminist perspective is not a linear process

“…Feminist community psychology advocates for collaboration and recognition of alternative viewpoints when we do research (Hill et al, 2000). I am suggesting here that we extend collaboration and recognition of alternative viewpoints to our practice, and the way we interact with our peers, and consider the notion that sometimes ''they'' is ''us.''…”

“…The research methods and ideology of feminist community psychology provide us with the potential to contribute to real change that will benefit women and society as a whole Hill, Bond, Mulvey, & Terenzio, 2000). Based upon my reflections of my personal and career experiences, I offered up some implications for community psychology that may be extended to feminist community psychology.…”

Life on the streets: the experiences of community researchers in a study of prostitution

“…All researchers felt comfortable with this role, as one said`I'll be anything they [participants] want me to be'. As already mentioned, the research was guided by principles relating to women-centred (community) psychology (see also Campbell and Wasco, 2000;Hill et al, 2000), and many of the prostitute women and female coworkers (such as outreach or probation staff), expressed views which could be interpreted as`feminist'. However, they distanced themselves from feminism, which was perceived as being against-prostitutes, White, middle-class, out of touch, and condescending.…”