Feminist Community Research by Gillian Creese, Paperback | Indigo Chapters

Feminist community research is a collaborative, policy-oriented methodology that holds the promise of empowering women and building a more just society. But in the absence of critical analysis and the responsible use of power, this approach can lead to naive or even harmful practices. Grounded as they are in fieldwork, these interdisciplinary case studies acknowledge the real methodological and ethical issues that researchers can encounter. The authors discuss the strategies – successful and unsuccessful – that they have employed to overcome these problems. The volume addresses the challenges of negotiating contested research relationships in local and global contexts and in relation to concerns such as health care, immigration, and poverty. The authors’ collective experiences working with diverse groups – including formerly incarcerated women, Aboriginal women, and poverty-reduction practitioners in Vietnam – reveal that truly equitable research projects require that we question core concepts and address crucial issues such as the promises and limits of reflexivity; the politics of place, time, and resources; ethical dilemmas and emotional responses; and the way issues of social justice, policy, and social change are embedded in research. By sharing lessons learned, this volume offers real strategies for researchers and government agencies to build better bridges between research institutions and communities. | Feminist Community Research by Gillian Creese, Paperback | Indigo Chapters