"Double Consciousness" of Transnational Researchers: Ethical Dilemmas of Space and Intercultural Dialogue in Research

• In Event: 46.085 - Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 46.085-19 - Postcolonial Dialogues in Educational Research

Abstract

Bourdieu’s conception of “epistemic reflexivity” has been an established tradition of knowledge production in the social sciences. Bourdieu & Wacquant (1992) argued for “objectifying objectification” while defining the relationship between the knower and the known. However, this objective method of knowledge production has been challenged in recent times by poststructuralist scholars who argue for taking into account subjectivities and power relationship. Connell (2007) critiqued these objective universalising assumptions to argue for the need to be sensitive about “different structure of knowledge” and “debates among the colonised societies”. This conceptual paper expands on this critique of Northern theory and argues for the advantage of diasporic researchers with “double consciousness” (Du Bois, 2007) to engage in intercultural dialogue for ethical research practice.

Authors

• Mousumi Mukherjee, University of Melbourne

• Tahiya Mahbub, McGill University