Respecifying Fieldwork: Refused Knowledge Communities Explored Through the Reflexive Lens

Abstract

This chapter offers a reflexive account of the overall fieldwork conducted by the research team into the four refused knowledge communities (RKCs). A reflexive account is particularly important here as refused knowledge followers share a widely held belief that academics in general act as spokespersons for epistemic regimes that they see as responsible for ostracising their knowledge within the public sphere. An additional element making a reflexive account even more urgent is that RKC followers may hold beliefs, values, assumptions and political views in sharp contrast to those of the researchers engaged in the fieldwork. Against this backdrop, by adopting a reflexive stance, this chapter explores the challenges that researchers engaged in studying the RKCs faced in their attempts to negotiate and conduct interviews with refused knowledge followers.