Performativity, border-crossings and ethics in a prison-based creative writing project

Abstract

We critically reflect on insights from our experiences as female researchers on a creative writing project in a men’s prison, including the emotional impact on the men involved and the ways in which our role as participant researchers impacted deeply on us. Juxtaposed starkly with the physical constraints of the prison, a sense of journeys emerged as significant throughout the study, particularly the symbolic crossing of boundaries. We draw on theories of performativity from both Feminist and Symbolic Interactionist perspectives to frame our understanding of the experience of being participant researchers in prison creative writing workshops, and also consider associated ethical issues.

Gender, risk, and presentation of self in “caring” prison work: Insights from institutional parole officers in Canada

“…The fact that female IPOs, to a much greater degree than their male colleagues, engage in strategic impression management to mitigate the gendered risks of their workplace suggests women correctional workers must take on additional emotional labor in attempting to preserve their occupational safety. For female prison staff working in nonsecurity roles, where feminized skills are necessary for rehabilitation work, feelings of vulnerability may be exacerbated and, thus, the need for careful and intentional impression management magnified—findings that deepen the limited literature on gendered selves and emotional labor among nonsecurity prison workers (Cannito & Mercuri, 2022; Gilliat‐Ray et al., 2013; Hinton‐Smith & Seal, 2019) by situating gender performances within the occupational risks experienced in the prison workplace.…”

“…That said, a handful of studies do engage in these theoretical questions. Hinton‐Smith and Seal (2019) analyzed how, as women researchers leading a creative writing class in a men's prison, their emotional labor and performances of femininity facilitated an environment in which prisoners could express masculinities that incorporated emotional vulnerability. Focused on the gendered organizational culture of prisons, Cannito and Mercuri (2022) examined how professionals from social welfare organizations, who are tasked with delivering programs to incarcerated men, constructed prisoners as unfit parents incapable of performing caring masculinities—in so doing, contributing to the gendered construction of the prison that places strict limits on the range of acceptable masculine performances.…”

Leading Change in Gender and Diversity in Higher Education from Margins to Mainstream

“…A feminist epistemological perspective determines the need for us to "disentangle the power geometry of situated knowledge" and the cross-cultural contextualisation of this (Caretta, 2015: 489). An increasing body of methodological writing in the Social Sciences is now devoted to the need to democratise research processes including for researchers to build rapport and form equitable relationships with participants (Hinton- Smith & Seal, 2018;Behar & Gordon, 1995, Olesen, 2011. This literature acknowledges "the power-loaded relationship between researcher and researched and lets the voices of informants and interviewees be heard through the text" (Caretta, 2015, p. 490).…”

A study on the application of creative writing in literature teaching based on multiple linear regression algorithm

“…The emergence of such creative writing courses and degrees, which are closely aligned with the use of new media, poses new challenges to established models of both teaching and research. From the perspective of the disciplinary history of creative writing, the phenomenon discussed by creative writing researcher Donnelly is the result of what Collier calls the digital turn in creative writing [9][10][11][12][13][14]. This new media creative writing, based on digital technology, has many characteristics such as digitalization, virtualization, and non-linear narratives that are different from the traditional print media era and have considerable influence on the established theories and practices of creative writing [15][16][17][18][19].…”