The politics of 'being and becoming' a researcher: Identity, power and negotiating the field

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

53 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article explores the methodological turning points in conducting a critical ethnography on the discursive practices of Italian Canadian youth identities across their multiple worlds in Toronto (cf. Giampapa, 2004a). Specifically, I aim to problematize the construction of the "researcher role" and researcher identities and the conceptualization of "insider/outsider", in relation to "being in the field". I hope to move beyond a prescriptive view of the researcher in the field and to critically reveal the ways in which researcher identities are constructed through the social practices and discourses in which we are embedded as we conduct critical ethnographic research. In my research I became implicated in the debates and social constructions of being and becoming Italian Canadian in Toronto. My shifting identities and positionalities became part of a delicate dance across the research sites where participants exercised their power in ways that would open or close doors in the field
Translated title of the contributionThe politics of 'being and becoming' a researcher: Identity, power and negotiating the field
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)132 - 144
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Language, Identity and Education
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2011

Bibliographical note

Author of Publication Reviewed: Giampapa, F
Publisher: Taylor Francis

Research Groups and Themes

  • SoE Language Literacies and Education Network

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