Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Feminist Intersectional Framework
Similar to Feminist Intersectional Framework (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Feminist Intersectional Framework
- 1. + Feminist Intersectional Framework: Making Visible the Voices of a Marginalized Population Carrie Bauer Arizona State University International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry Saturday, May 19, 2012 cmbauer1@asu.edu 815.440.6664
- 2. 2 + Focus I want to “not just describe the world, but seek to change it” (Pratt, 2010, p. 66). IRC. (2012). New roots farm program. http://www.rescue.org/all- photo-essays?page=1
- 3. 3 + Research Questions What social, political, institutional, structur al and power factors influence women refugees’ lived experiences, and thus potentially impact their socio-economic empowerment? How does a feminist, intersectional framework help one answer this question?
- 4. + Main Points 4 Feminist Ethics Feminist Intersectional Intersectionality & Lived Framework Experience Feminist Methodological & Theoretical Tools
- 5. + 5 Feminist Ethics A responsibility towards the participants and an active move to better their lives along with the research project goals
- 6. + 6 Feminist Ethics Livable Life A Livable Life “is what humans require in order to maintain and reproduce the conditions of their own livability” (Butlery, 2004, p. 226).
- 7. + 7 Intersectionality A framework or theory used to analyze the interconnected relationships that constitute life. & Lived Experience The entirety of moments and events that overlap to create one’s existence - where refugees come across institutional inequalities that are both material and discursive and locate individuals within certain hierarchical relationships.
- 8. + Historical Background of Refugees 8 in the US A Refugee is “a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membershi p of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country or return there because there is a fear of persecution...” (UN, 1954)
- 9. + 9 US Refugee Historical Timeline
- 10. + 10 LIFE
- 11. + 11 Feminist Methodological & Theoretical Tools Activist Interdisciplinary Scholarship Methods
- 12. Activist Scholarship + 12
- 13. Activist Scholarship + 13
- 14. + Interdisciplinary Methods & Analysis 14 The use of multiple methods and tools of analysis Historical Analysis Semi-Structured Interviews Co-created Focus Groups Participant Observation Photo-Voice
- 15. + 15 FEMINIST RESEARCH FRAMEWORK Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add Feminist Ethics Intersectionality & Lived Experience Feminist Methodological & Theoretical Tools
- 16. + These slides are posted on 16 SlideShare. If you have any further comments please go to this link and provide feedback: http://www.slideshare.net/cmb auer1/qual-conf-presentation- 051612 THANK YOU! Also, if you are interested in projects like this please click on ASU Courses at www.socialeconomyaz.org or Type in Gila Farm Cooperative Somali Bantu on YouTube to experience a promotional video of the refugee farmers. http://youtu.be/ZWqHOGzqjC4
- 17. + References 17
- 18. References + 18
- 19. References + 19
- 20. + 20 Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to add Feminist Intersectional Framework: Making Visible the Voices of a Marginalized Population Carrie Bauer Arizona State University International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry Saturday, May 19, 2012 Cmbauer1@asu.edu 815.440.6664
Editor's Notes
- Hello, my name is Carrie Bauer and I am from Arizona State University. I will be presenting on my paper Feminist Intersectional Framework: Making Visible the Voices of a Marginalized Population
- Following the example of Geraldine Pratt, (2010) a research widely known for her focus on feminist theory and collaborative participatory research, I want to “not just … describe the world, but … seek to change it” (p. 66). -In an effort to create change, this paper, as part of my dissertation, develops a framework that applies feminist theory and methodology in understanding the lived experiences of women refugees and its impact on their socio-economic empowerment.-This analytic research design attempts to combine ideas and tools from a variety of theories and methods, in order to engage participants in the research process, promote a livable life and respect and privilege the knowledge of participants.
- 1) What social, political, institutional, structural and power factors influence women refugees’ lived experiences, and thus potentially impact their socio-economic empowerment?2) How does a feminist, intersectional framework help one answer this question?
- The paper is divided into three sections. 1) The first examines the use of a feminist2) The second discusses intersectional theory and lived experience3) And the third looks at what feminist methodological and theoretical tools are best applicable to community research with refugee women.
- The idea of feminist ethics consists of a responsibility towards the participants and an active move to better participants’ lives along with the research project goals. As part of the framework it is a guiding principle of: are we asking the right questions, are we continuing to keep in mind the consequences of our decisions and are we, as researchers, creating space for the participants voices?The existing scholarship of refugee women has sometimes lacked these feminist considerations. For EXAMPLE a 2006 study by Cortes on refugees versus economic immigrants refers to refugees as choosing to relocate, when in reality they are forced – this demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and respect regarding the participants.Another EXAMPLE. Is a 2010 study by Springer et al where researchers used Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)to assess health care concerns of refugees. While these researchers did try and include their participants in the study, they failed to recognize how the medical field is gendered in its diagnosing, prescriptions, and other related issues (Fausto-Sterling, 2005).In reconciling these issues, feminist ethicsallows for the “critique of a dominant perspective” as quoted byMayeda (2011, p. 426) about how research is conducted and the extent to which participants are actively involved in the research. For refugees, the emphasis on responsibility allows women refugees to define the salient issues important to their lives, understands what they value, and does not impose what they should value. An example in my previous work that exemplifies the use of this theoretical construct was our use of weekly meetings; all members of the research team had weekly meetings to discuss if the needs of all stakeholders -- the agency, the refugee farmers and the university – were being met and if ideas and thoughts from each party were being considered as the project proceeded. What is at stake in including a feminist ethic in this design is the ability to ask the right questions and to continue to ask questions throughout the research that reflects respect and attention to and from the participants.
- Part of a feminist ethics is the promotion of a livable life and advocates for this, from the questions asked, to the tools used to gather data, to the purpose of the research. A livable life, as defined by Judith Butler (2004), is “what humans require in order to maintain and reproduce the conditions of their own livability” (p. 226).Overall, it allows a person to live a life free of injustice and open to opportunity that exists beyond just economic gains. For example, the refugee women farmers that I worked with at the IRC in Phoenix, AZ make part of their living selling vegetables at the local farmer’s market. While this does provide some income, there is little sustainability (difficulties with: steady finance/income, insurance, competing against large corporate farms, weather conditions, financial crisis, etc.). To create an enduring revenue stream in their farming, they have worked with other farmers from different ethnic backgrounds to create a cooperative that will sell whole-sale to restaurants and grocery stores and enable them to create sustainability. The development of the cooperative and the ability to sell at the farmers’ markets creates a livable life based on social and economic rights. It impacts their socio-economic empowerment, defined as the social and economic factors that serve to create greater social and financial independence in the lives of the women, by advancing their opportunities in creating a life that meets their basic needs and those of their families, including a steady income, insurance and safety nets.
- The second section of the paper evaluates intersectional theory to determine whether it can help make better sense of the lives of women refugees. It examines the complicated experiences of refugees, including historical policy in the United States as well as day to day activities and structures that influence their existence, in order to demonstrate the need for an intersectional analysis.
- I have separated the factors of lived experience into two sections.The first addresses the historical background of refugees in the US and the second part deals with life in general.
- US refugee policy has changed drastically over the nation’s lifetime, based on wars, foreign policy, international relations and economic interests. Specific processes of modernity, globalization, and patriarchy together constructed the conditions for certain identities and experiences to emerge at particular moments and places. An intersectional theoretical approach is key to understanding the convoluted process of the mixing of these items. So I have created an historical timeline of US refugee policy to demonstrate this.Initially, refugees in the United States came from Europe as a consequence of World War I and World War II. U.S. Congress enacted the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 that allowed an additional 400,000 displaced Europeans admittance to the United States (Legal Services of North Dakota, 2009). At this point, Cold War anti-communist ideology dominated the historical immigration and refugee policy of the United States, pitting US capitalism and democracy against Soviet communism. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the US defined refugees as those from communist countries, limiting those who were allowed asylum to individuals fleeing a communist nation, not a US ally. The majority of refugees came from communist countries such as the USSR, Poland, Hungary and China. From 1975 to 1980 alone, 125,000 Vietnamese were resettled in the US – this promoted capitalism and democracy while simultaneously fighting communism. Recent refugee policy has shifted based on legal definitions and policy. In 1980, Congress passed the Refugee Act to standardize the definition, protocol and resettlement services of refugees within the USto match that of the UN. WHICH YOU SAW in the definition ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE –In the last several years the United States has set an annual limit for refugee admittance and it has been capped at 80,000 – in 2011 - 56,419 refugees were admitted to the US according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).While some refugees are granted acceptance by seeking asylum at US ports of entry, others are accepted based on the authority of the President to delegate certain countries and their nationals as acceptable for refugee status. Refugee status in the US has changed over time and has also been determined based on current US foreign relations and policy, such as communists or other powers defined as enemies of the US as seen in the images on the timeline that represent the most recent reasons for refugee resettlement in the US (ie. Iraq and the Taliban).
- So that was the historical analysis part of the lived experience. The second part of the lived experience is LIFE. The intersecting points of life are not nice and neatly laid out in a graph or a grid as illustrated in the equation at the top of the slide. LIFE, more resembles the chaotic picture of squiggly lines and overlapping moments of experience on the lower picture on the slide.This paper does not include all of the factors involved in the lives of refugees but it does highlight some in order to express the need for a feminist framework of intersectionality and the lived experience to capture the varied experiences and their overlapping nature. FOR EXAMPLE a few of these experiences include:Cultural influence: Katherine Marino (1998) discusses maintaining a balance of culture between the home-world and the new world.Acculturation: Justine Dandy discusses acculturation as “the extent to which persons in cultural transition wish to maintain the values, customs and norms of their cultures of origin … and the extent to which they desire interaction with other cultural groups, including the host or dominant culture”. Gender: Gender as identity has been often constructed as a binary, man and woman (Spenner et al, 1990). OR “experiences of collective identity formation and personal identity transformation” leading the women to challenge dominant social institutions (Erbaugh, 2002, p. 8). Other researchers have discussed the link between gender, work and mobility. (Tomlinson et al, 2002: Yuval-Davis, 1994; Spenner et al, 1990). So while gender might only be one part of the lived experience it permeates other facets such as work and community and demands an intersectional analysis.Race: is another factor that impacts the lived experience. Omi and Winant look at race as a social construct and promote the use of the term racial formation “as a process by which social, economic, and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories.” Yuval-Davis (2002; 1994) similarly positions race as a constructed political process. Omi, Winant and Yuval-Davis advance a feminist and intersectional analysis by engaging race as a social relation and placing the idea in an historical context rather than discussing it unilaterally. As I have often said to my students when I enter the classroom, I cannot leave, nor untangle, my race, gender, social class, sexuality or any other part of my lived experience and deposit it on the other side of the door. They all are simultaneously who I am and therefore must be researched collectively.
- The third of the three key parts of this framework is the use of feminist methodological and theoretical tools to help facilitate a responsible foundation and promote participant involvement in the research. The research instruments discussed in this section of the paper include activist-scholarship (sometimes referred to as scholar-activism) and interdisciplinary methods.
- In relation to the women refugees, activist scholarship posits a theory of not just taking from the individuals involved in the research but creating a specific element within the research that gives back according to Laura Pulido (2008). This can include: volunteer hours by the researcher in organizations or communities; participating in advocacy work and activist rallies, creating marketing tools for or with the individuals or other activities that promote the lived lives and aid in the participants’ struggles. The photo on the slide is an example of a tri-fold brochure created collectively between the refugee participants and the researchers in a prior study. A new and improved version of this is now used at Farmers’ Markets as well as through the Gila Farm Cooperative as a promotional material for the refugees in AZ.
- 2nd side of tri-fold brochure.This demonstrates small snippets and quotes from 1 page promotional flyers that introduce refugee farmers and their produce to the community and potential clients.
- The final portion of the paper and the third key part looks at the use of different methodological tools, including historical analysis, semi-structured interviews, co-created focus groups, participant observation and photo-voice.Using more than one method can be difficult. However, both Evelyn Nakano Glenn (2003) and GayatriGopinath (2005), display how historical analysis, and the collaboration of other methods can help to create a multi-faceted story that illustrates the fluid identity of people. -Glenn reconstructs and analyzes the complex history of the US through a dialectic methodology focusing on three regional areas to explain the intersection of gender, race and class in forming citizenship and labor practices. -Gopinath challenges the traditional non-heterosexual sexualities set up by the hegemonic Euro-American systems. She uses a scavenger and interdisciplinary methodology of queer, feminist, postcolonial, diasporic, film and cultural studies to tease out the processes and conditions that globalization and colonization have created regarding same-sex desires over time. -Interdisciplinary methods, uses multiple tools from a variety of disciplines to gather data, while scavenger methods,allow for multiple ways of interpreting and looking at people’s form, thoughts or interpretations. AND both of these methodologies,based on the need of the project, are flexible in the data sources they use and allow space for new sources, as parts of data, throughout the project. Similarly my dissertation work with women refugees will be conducted in two different locations: Phoenix, AZ and San Francisco, CA and therefore will require the use of a scavenger and interdisciplinary methodology in order to accommodate the differences in the multiple sites. I will plan to use a combination of the methods mentioned as they fit the needs of the sites and participants.The use of different methods allows for different experiences and knowledge production. For example, Individual interviews may allow for a more intimate discussion, while focus groups may bring up new and creative ways to discuss the topics. Photo-voice may create a window to an idea that a participant does not feel comfortable discussing verbally and observations may reveal ideas that generate new questions for the researcher. Photo on the right – is of a focus group where we are asking refugee women questions about the farming cooperative they are attempting to form.Photo on the left –is where the refugee women are asking the researchers more questions about the cooperative and their role in it as part of the collaborative focus group discussion.
- While not all researchers include feminist ethics, feminist methodological and theoretical tools, intersectionality or concepts that deal with the lived experiences of people participating in the research in their studies I find it a requirement for my research. So I, along with this framework, advocate that one consider the overarching ideas presented here, when creating their next project.