Future Projects/Future Theorizing in Feminist Field Research Methods: Commentary on Panel Discussion

Abstract

The conference Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork: Studying Ourselves/Studying Others concluded with a panel discussion entitled Future Projects/Future Theorizing. The six participants discussed the quandaries that feminist researchers face, and suggested future directions and trends that feminist field researchers should pursue. The speakers were Sylvia Yanagisako, Beatriz Pesquera, Judith Stacey, and Judith Newton (presenting a joint project), Anna Tsing, and Deborah Gordon.' Needless to say, their presentations only provided a sketch of their views on these topics. Similarly, this paper only touches on some of the issues raised by the panelists and does not capture all of the points made in that two-hour session of talks, followed by questions and answers. In summarizing this panel, we focused on two issues: (1) the politics of positionality and representation; and (2) the practice of doing feminist research, specifically, empowering and collaborative methodologies. These themes are particularly compelling to us because they are at the heart of current inquiries about power relations in the production and deployment of knowledge. Committed to more egalitarian educational institutions and to less exploitative uses of knowledge, we feel that the debates over the politics of positionality and empowering methodologies are crucial if we are to realize such goals. In addition to our participation in the UCD conference on feminist dilemmas, these