III. Assignment 1: Power, Positionality and Research

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to guide you through a series of reflections about your own subjectivity (identity) and positionality as it relates to your role as a Development Studies student and researcher. The reflexive practices you complete for this part of the course can be used in many different professional, academic and even personal settings.

Learning Objectives

By the end of Part 1 of the course students will be able to:

1. Critically reflect on their position as researchers in a development context
2. Practice descriptive and reflective writing in relation to their own Masters research

Introduction: It is very likely that you have already done some reflection on your positionality as a student and researcher since this is a common practice in many of the disciplines in which you are being trained. Reflecting on identity and power is often seen as particularly important in Development Studies because unequal power dynamics can be very acute between researchers/practitioners and participants. This is true for ALL Development Research and not just for those studies where researches go ‘to the field’.

To complete this part of the course please follow the instructions below (in the order they are laid out)

1. Watch: 

The video lecture on CourseLink that goes over some of the main theoretical and practical components of this part of the course.

If you have not heard of the concept ‘intersectionality’ before or would like a refresher on it, please watch this TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en#t-3189

2. Do All of the following readings:

• Sato, C. (2004). “Chapter 6 A self-reflexive analysis of power and positionality”. In Women, Literacy and Development, 1, 100.
• Pacheco-Vega, R., & Parizeau, K. (2018). Doubly engaged ethnography: Opportunities and challenges when working with vulnerable communities. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1609406918790653.
• Philpott, J. (2010). Training for a global state of mind. AMA Journal of Ethics, 12(3), 231-236.
• Soedirgo, J., & Glas, A. (2020). Toward Active Reflexivity: Positionality and Practice in the Production of Knowledge. PS: Political Science & Politics, 53(3), 527-531.

Do one or more of the following readings (you might choose a reading based on the methods you plan to use in your research or based on personal interest):

• Crabtree, S. M. (2019). Reflecting on reflexivity in development studies research. Development in Practice, 29(7), 927-935.
• Gieseking, J. J. (2015). Useful in/stability: The dialectical production of the social and spatial Lesbian Herstory Archives. Radical History Review, 2015(122), 25-37.
• Mullings, B. (1999). Insider or outsider, both or neither: some dilemmas of interviewing in a cross-cultural setting. Geoforum, 30(4), 337-350.
• Pousti, H., Urquhart, C., & Linger, H. (2020). Researching the virtual: A framework for reflexivity in qualitative social media research. Information Systems Journal.
• Sultana, F. (2007). Reflexivity, positionality and participatory ethics: Negotiating fieldwork dilemmas in international research. ACME: An international E-journal for Critical Geographies, 6(3), 374-385.
• Watt, D. (2007). On becoming a qualitative researcher: the value of reflexivity. Qualitative Report, 12(1), 82-101. [this is about using a research journal]

4. Reflexivity Activities: 

Complete the reflexivity activities as they are described in the lecture video. Anything you need for the activities can be found on CourseLink. The purpose of the activities is to help you disentangle your various subject positions (identities) and help you figure out which ones might matter more or less for the research you are engaged in or planning. The goal is to reflect on your positionality and how that situates you within certain power dynamics in the context of your research and as a Development Studies student.

The reflexivity activities to complete:

1. The social identity wheel worksheet (adapted from: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/inclusive-teaching/social-identity-wheel/)
2. The readings and thinking about privilege (based on Peggy mackintosh’s invisible backpack)
3. Why are you here journaling (asks questions about your goals based on Philpott reading)
4. Active Reflexivity questions (from Soedirgo, J., & Glas, A. reading)

Privacy and Confidentiality: You do not have to submit these activities. They are meant to be background activities that set you up to write the reflective paper. While I will keep your paper confidential, please know that you do not have to share anything in the reflective paper that you submit that you are not comfortable sharing.

5. Reflective Essay: 

Write a reflective essay that is between 5 and 6 pages double-spaced. Use the following questions to guide your paper:

1. Which of your various subjectivities are most relevant in your role as Development Studies student and/or researcher?
2. How may this subjectivity/these subjectivities offer challenges or opportunities to research design, data collection, data analysis and/or communicating results?
3. What might you do to mitigate any power imbalances that may occur due to your positionality?

• In your essay please draw on your experience doing the assigned activities.
• In your essay please draw on the assigned readings (and cite them). Consider drawing on the approaches and analytical frameworks that these authors use as one way to organize your own paper. If you need to cite the lecture materials you can cite: Hawkins, R. 2021. “IDEV 6300: Power and Positionality in Development Research” Class Lecture at the University of Guelph.
• Even though this is a more personal and reflective writing assignment, it should still be written professionally in that it is well organized, structured and cited. You can use first person “I” throughout the paper. Please see the rubric below for more guidance.

SUBMIT YOUR REFLECTIVE ESSAY FOR GRADING IN COURESELINK DROPBOX

The reflective essay is due anytime between October 1st and December 10th at midnight. I will grade your paper within three weeks of submission. 

If you need an extension on the due date please speak to the instructor as soon as possible.

Grading Rubric