Feminism and Action Research - Valerie Louis

Before I was an action researcher, I was a feminist researcher/scholar.  I had done feminist qualitative research, taking into account whose voice was being heard, the power dynamics within the research process, and the gendered lens which I explored my topic.  As an action researcher I learned a lot from feminist theory and methodology. I have used my feminist lens as a foundation for my AR.  As a feminist thinker, I am not just concerned with gender but the intersectionality of oppressions and identity.  The hierarchy of oppressions just didn't make sense in the theoretical world - though I embrace understanding that many in the world do see their identities and oppressions as hierarchical, or one piece that plays out more overtly in society than another.

When I began my education as an action researcher, my classes studied much of the critical theories I read as a feminist scholar.  With this re-reading, I realized I had found another one of my educational homes.  But what drives my action research is my feminist identity, my awareness of the social injustice in the world.  Action research provided a place for the theory and the action that fell in love with as a women's studies student.  I found AR to provide more of a blueprint and a theory for my feminist methodology.  Much has been written about feminism and AR (see Brydon-Miller, Maguire & McIntyre and Frisby, Macguire & Reid in bibliography below).  I think it is important to explore how we came to AR.  For me, I know that it is continually important for me to honor the feminist researcher/scholar within me and that it is foundational to all of the work that I do, even when at times it is not the most prominent label I use in the discussion (and that is not because I am afraid of the f-word :-)

Brydon-Miller, M., Maguire, P., & McIntyre, A. (2004). Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers

Collins, P. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment: Routledge.

Frisby, W., Maguire, P., & Reid, C. (2009). The `f' word has everything to do with it. Action Research, 7, 13-29.

Williams, Kimberlé Crenshaw. "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity

Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color". In: Martha Albertson Fineman,

Rixanne Mykitiuk, Eds. The Public Nature of Private Violence. (New York:

Routledge, 1994), p. 93-118.

Participating with the Universe - Valerie Louis

For my dissertation work, I explored how people could participate with their organization's energy system to create change.  Quantum physics has postulated that our world is a vast sea of energy that surrounds us.  Some have asserted that this energy holds information that can be accessed to help inform our lives.  I started with quantum physics and my understanding of the human energy field to explore participating with an organization's energy.  When I first began this exploration, I felt very alone in the literature.  I saw myself as pushing the boundary of participation and though others had done the same - my immediate academic environment was somewhat skeptical of this worldview.  You can imagine my sense of community as I re-read the Introduction to the Handbook of action research, First ed. and saw front and center Reason and Bradbury's discussion of the participatory worldview.  What I discovered is that there is a discussion in AR using quantum physics to explore participating with the world.  McNiff (1999) embraces “new science descriptions of space that it is not a vast emptiness in which planets and stars exist in remote isolation from each other” (p. 47). Reason (2007) links people to the larger cosmos through a world that “senses us” at the same time that we are “sensing the world” (p. 37).  In addition, he embraces that our minds are connected to the “amorphous primordial data of the universe” and therefore humans “co-create with the universe” (Reason, 1993, p. 275).

            This week I received via email a talk that Peter Reason gave about participating with the world.  He strongly asserts that humans are not separate from the planet – that we are not “outsiders to the planet.”  Of course, if we in the West continue to think of the world as a machine, with all of its separate parts we will continue to be outsiders.  But how does it shift your thinking to think of yourself as an insider?  What if, by the nature of the energetic universe you are very much an insider, able to partner with your organization, the tree in your yard, and the cosmos?  How would this shift your definition of participation?  And therefore shift your actions?  What if you could dialogue with the “things” around you that you think are unable to participate? 

            Reading Peter Reason’s talk this week has helped me re-engage my dissertation work. It has affirmed for me that I am part of a continuing discussion – maybe one that is on the fringe of AR, but I seem to be in respectable company.  And as I read of Reason’s experiences with Medicine wheel and other spiritual teachings (a connection I share), I see the fringe as the ability to bring many worlds together to deepen the conversation and push the concept of participation further into the unknown and the disengaged.  I appreciate Peter Reason’s ability to speak openly about all of his experiences – his willingness to move a “private story” out into the public arena.  It is a bold step, much like Bache’s (2008) discussion of his participation with his institution that I admire and strive for. 

Bache, C. (2008). The living classroom: Teaching and collective consciousness. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

McNiff, J. (1999). Action research, a methodology of care. In U. M. Collins & J. McNiff (Eds.), Rethinking pastoral care (pp. 43-51). New York: Routledge.

Reason, P. (1993). Reflections on sacred experience and sacred science. Journal of Management Inquiry, 2(3), 273-283.

Reason, P. (2007). Education for ecology. Management Learning, 38(1), 27-44.

Reason, P., & Bradbury, H. (2001). Introduction: Inquiry and participation in search of a world worthy of human aspiration. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (First ed., pp. 1-14). Thousands, CA: Sage Publications.

Reflection - Valerie Louis

In my post last week I wrote about graduation.  And now I find myself in a place of not-knowing.  I have no idea what is next.  Some days I stress and other days I go with the flow.  Today I looked at this not-knowing time as the time in action research that is exciting, engaging, and yes...unnerving.  In action research, not knowing often means I am on the right track.  The messiness and the chaos means I am in partnership - letting the process unfold - usually into something far better than I could imagine (Brydon-Miller, Greenwood & Maguire, 2003).  So I have been taking this in-between time as a time to reflect and clarify goals for myself.  So for now, I guess my life is my action research project.  Reason spoke of AR as a spiritual practice - something I deeply resonate with.  In this time of reflection, I hope to gain insight into what is important to me as a researcher, educator, student, and citizen.  I have plans of making lists - dreams for the immediate future and for the long term.  I have recognized that I want to travel back to my roots of feminist theory and methodology and explore further the connections to AR.  I want to develop my use of AR in the classroom.  I also want to explore in more detail what it means for me to be an interdisciplinary researcher and thinker in a job market that seems so discipline specific.

I see this time of reflection also filled with much action - including reading and writing. One of the lists I plan to make is a reading list.  I would love to hear from you the readings (from all disciplines, fiction, non-fiction, poetry) that influenced your understanding and journey with action research.  I would also be interested in hearing how AR guides your life - in the community, the classroom, and at home.

AR and Qualitative Research - The Welcoming of Photovoice

This week I had attended the 22nd Annual Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Conference, which is why my post is a few days late.  The conference has me reflecting on many areas of research and publication such as generalizabilty, limitations, and the intersection of theory and research. I definitely have my wheels turning about future research possibilities.  And while I enjoyed the conference, I could not help but think how different the conversation would be with more action researchers in attendance.  Though Greenwood and Levin (2007) state that AR is not qualitative research – it is clear that the influence is there for both areas. There were people at the conference who are doing AR and are not using that label.  Others had never heard of AR and it was moments of learning.  I presented a poster on photovoice and was happy with the energy and reception of the method.  It is a process that I have truly enjoyed.  Photovoice continually provides moments of learning and knowledge generation.  It is filled with magical moments of connection, transformation, and understanding.  As I wrote in my last post, I used photovoice in my class this quarter.  The students and I spent the last two weeks analyzing the photos…I am anxiously waiting to see who signed consent forms to allow their photos to be used in further analysis and dissemination – and to work with me in that process.  Through the analysis process in class it energized me even more about the process.  I hope to move into first person reflection with photovoice and to incorporate it into my diversity classes, similar to Chio and Fandt’s (2007) usage of it.  Do you have a success stories with photovoice?  Or challenges?  I would love to hear from you…please comment to share your stories…  

Theory and Practice - The Apprentice

  
Having completed my dissertation and graduating in June, naturally I am looking at what is next for me in my life journey.  I admit, I have no idea what lays before me.  I have searched for some glimmer of the future but never seem to have a clear picture.  Times like this, I often turn to tools that may give me some insight into my current situation.  I may meditate, write in a journal, and look for repeating “signs” in my daily life.    An image/concept I have seen a few times now is the “apprentice.” I have taken notice of this image, but I have been confused about how the apprentice relates to me at this time. 

     Yesterday, while teaching my Women and Religion class, the image of the apprentice made sense to me.  We discussed creativity in relationship to feminist spirituality.  I had my students do a quasi-photovoice project.  They paired up and walked around the university looking for an object or a scene that represented their understanding and experience of creativity.  All of my students had camera phones to take pictures.  I did not have a plan on how to share the photos – I thought we might huddle around and look at each other’s phones.  When it came time to discuss, I thought out loud about putting someone’s phone on the document projector to show the pictures.  My students said they could just email me their pictures from their phones…GENIUS!!!!! So students emailed their photos, and I projected them on the screen through the computer.  Not only were the students technologically wise, the words and images they produced were profound and transformative.  They brought the concepts of creativity and spirituality to life with image and words.

     So what does this have to do with being an apprentice and action research?  Yesterday in class reminded me that even though I am the facilitator of the classroom experience, I continuously learn from the people around me.  The class was better yesterday because my students took ownership of creating knowledge and of our technological needs to create a place for sharing.  When I looked at the apprentice image, I had forgotten to look at in relationship to all of my roles, the people around me, and my experience of action research. 

     Action research welcomes me into the role of being and doing, continuously learning my trade – whatever that may be.  The apprentice challenges me to continue to learn and grow in community.  An apprentice is not an isolated individual – but a person that works with others.  I am thankful that I took notice of the “sign.”  I am now playing with the idea of how to be an apprentice and a master at the same time.  A paradox that honors the hard work and knowledge I have generated and the experience of continuing to learn and grow from community – in all of its formations.