Empathy through imaginative reconstruction: Navigating difference in feminist transnational research in China and Peru

Abstract

Existing scholarship in feminist geography has worked to significantly delineate the concept of positionality. In this article, we continue in this tradition by considering the context of transnational research where researchers need to actively negotiate the effects of colonialist discourses in both interpersonal relationships and discourse production. We argue that empathy through imaginative reconstruction provides an opportunity for an emotional understanding to be approached in the absence of shared experience. Drawing on our own fieldwork experiences, we address moments where we worked to create relationships of empathy through imagination to highlight ways that imaginative reconstruction and empathy can be used to negotiate difference in the process of fieldwork. Relatedly, we address the need to take a third position and the role of the shame in this process. We also consider the dangers posed when using imaginative reconstruction, particularly over-identification and appropriation. We conclude by discussing the challenges and potential of using imaginative reconstruction to enrich transnational research.