Subverting Perceptions of Vulnerability in Empirical Research

Description

'Fuck you and fuck your fucking thesis' – Subverting Perceptions of Vulnerability in Empirical Research

Research ethics frameworks require researchers to identify and assess the 'vulnerability' of research participants. Too often, this process is accompanied by a lack of scrutiny of what is meant by 'vulnerable', and the connotations of passivity and powerlessness that this term can evoke. In this session, we explore two radical re-interpretations of what it means to be vulnerable in the context of empirical research, both as a research participant and as a researcher.

 

Readings:

• Anne Tagonist, 'Fuck you and fuck your fucking thesis: why I will not participate in trans studies', Livejournal, [Online] (2009), available at https://tagonist.livejournal.com/199563.html
• Ruth Behar, ‘The Vulnerable Observer’, The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology that Breaks Your Heart, (Beacon Press: Boston, 1996)

Open to all. No registration required.
An event organised by Critical Approaches to 'Vulnerability' in Empirical Research (CAVER) Network.
Administrative assistance: networks@crassh.cam.ac.uk