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- Convenors:
-
Vrinda Chopra
(Ashoka University)
Himani Bajaj (Ashoka University)
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- Format:
- Experimental format
- Stream:
- Decolonization and knowledge production
Short Abstract:
The workshop calls for stories on navigating the crises of postcolonial development, to open up reflexivity as a critical approach that encourages (a)knowledge-making as relational, ongoing and unfinished, and (b) challenges the very idea of reflexivity that privileges ‘speaking for’ the community.
Description:
The crisis of postcolonial development is marked by a burgeoning informality that is the subject of development interventions. Yet within these interventions our critical engagement with alternative narratives is limited. By alternative narratives, we mean the relationship between our knowledge as researchers and practitioners and the knowledge of our communities of practice. By focussing on the relationship between different types of knowledge, we challenge existing theoretical paradigms of what constitutes knowledge, negotiating knowledge production as a collaborative process.
We draw on Doreen Massey’s feminist and relational spaces to recognize that informal and formal spaces are not static but are always in the making. We focus on how knowledge flows and the simultaneity of “stories so far,” to understand how the crisis of social change in postcolonial development is always in the making. Reformulation of experiences as stories is also a political act of re-reading and unlearning that can stimulate reflexivity in knowledge production on development and social change.
The workshop calls for stories or narrative vignettes that open up reflexivity as a critical approach encouraging knowledge-making on social change as granular, relational, ongoing and unfinished. We also look for stories that challenge the very idea of reflexivity that often privileges ‘speaking for or representing’ the community. Through the workshop, we aim to find commonalities and divergences between stories across geographical spaces in the Global South. We hope to develop a reflexive writing toolkit on narrative building about the crisis of postcolonial development that is critical and creative in scope.
Accepted contributions:
Session 1Contribution short abstract:
Insider research is highlighted for the natural access to the studied group. However, challenges are associated with insider knowledge’s domination and opportunities for alternative perspectives. I adopted a flexible insider/outsider positionality to reflect on the biases related to insider status.
Contribution long abstract:
In my PhD research with women working in the NGO sector in Vietnam, I approached the researched community through an insider identity as a former female co-worker or colleague in the NGO sector. Insider research is often highlighted for its natural access to the studied group for insider knowledge without upsetting the natural setting (Bonner and Tolhurst, 2002; Ross, 2017; Merton, 1972). However, there are challenges involved with the knowledge generated with insider status. Insider researchers are often criticised for lacking the objectivity to be aware of the domination of insider knowledge (Chavez, 2008; Ross, 2017; Merton, 1972). Also, the dominant knowledge of the researcher about the researched area might eliminate the opportunities to explore other perspectives from the informants (Dwyer and Buckle, 2009). To deal with this dilemma, I adopted a flexible insider/outsider positionality to reflect on the knowledge produced with the insider status. When moving out from the insider status, I could engage critically with the insider knowledge and reflect on and interrogate the dominant knowledge to seek alternative explanations of the issues under investigation. Also, periodic detachment from the informants allowed me to gain the necessary distance to testify to the coherence and consistency of the information collected. The flexible insider/outside positionality also enables me to reflect on the validity of the interview data to avoid unnecessary biases.
Contribution short abstract:
This paper shares critical incidents identified by development professionals - vignettes which coalesce around reflexive themes of professional identity, uncertainty, humility, power, vulnerability and trust; the assumptions that underpin them, and the learning and shifts in practice they generate.
Contribution long abstract:
Against a backdrop of ‘Aidnography’ (Gould 2004), this study draws on Fook and Gardner’s model of Critical Reflection (2007) to explore the reflexivity of development professionals, using the mechanism of critical incidents as an entry point. A critical incident is defined as “any significant event that leaves the participant to feel puzzled or unclear about the incident and the outcome” (Hickson 2011.) The study explores the extent to which development professionals use Situated Reflective Practice (Malthouse et al 2014 ) to scaffold their professional identity, inform the evolution of practice and contain the uncertainty inherent within complex unstable environments in which they work.
In the context of extreme power dynamics of ‘Aid’ relationships, the link between self-awareness and ethics (Sultana 2007) requires development professionals to transcend the reflective to the reflexive and ensure that learning generated from critical incidents informs their practice, with professional reflexivity a moral question of ethical competence (Ulrich 2000.)
The presentation will identify reflexive themes or ‘learning edges’ (Amulya 2004) through the sharing of vignettes based on critical incidents identified by development professionals. The vignettes coalesce around themes of professional identity, uncertainty, humility, power, vulnerability and trust and the study unpicks the assumptions, beliefs or attitudes underpinning these critical incidents and the extent to which reflection leads to professional learning and changes in thinking or practice.
Contribution short abstract:
It is imperative to decolonize international development studies (IDS). We propose two strategies for decolonizing IDS knowledge production.
Contribution long abstract:
The field of International development has long been criticized for being western-centric, white-centric, male-centric, and state-centric. They have also been complicit in (neo)colonialist, imperialist, and Orientalist forms of knowledge production that perpetuate injustice and inequality in society. To address these issues, it is imperative to decolonize international development studies (IDS). We propose two strategies for decolonizing IDS knowledge production. The first strategy involves un-suturing hegemonic IDS discourses, particularly by engaging with perspectives from marginalized positions. This is primarily an act of deconstruction. While deconstruction is a necessary aspect of decolonial efforts, it is not sufficient on its own. Indeed, deconstruction can sometimes be co-opted by hegemonic powers to neutralize the resistance of marginalized peoples and groups. The second strategy emphasizes the importance of uncovering, celebrating, and reinterpreting marginalized texts—often cultural works that are overlooked in mainstream IDS education dominated by conventional textbooks. These texts not only challenge our understanding of hegemonic narratives but also offer opportunities to develop a non-coercive and non-hegemonic language of engagement. In this context, we argue for the value of incorporating literature and storytelling as methods for decolonizing IDS. Specifically, I highlight the potential of cultural texts about the idea of development, which engage with local, Asian, and global perspectives, to serve as powerful tools for reimagining IDS through a decolonial lens.