Abstract
The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social/political protest concerning structural anti-Black racism marks a moment for deep reflection and revision of many taken-for-granted assumptions about our research and academic lives as social work scholars. In this reflexive essay we, as two non-Black qualitative social work scholars, explore some of the questions and considerations for social work research that have surfaced since the emergence of these complex social, political, and economic crises. We organize our reflection around what we study, why, and how we go about studying it. We then offer a discussion of various constraints and challenges that emerge in this type of reflective scholarly practice, including an analysis of how contexts of white supremacy culture and neoliberalism shape social work scholarship. We close the essay with a number of recommendations for further reflection for social work scholars, such as reviewing research practices, seeking external research funding, practicing reflexivity, interrogating assumptions about knowledge production, self and community care, and integrating scholarly work into social work curriculum.
Highlights
The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and social/political protest concerning structural anti-Black racism marks a moment for deep reflection and revision of many taken-for-granted assumptions about our research and academic lives as social work scholars
When we first saw the call for papers for this special issue in Spring 2020, we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate impacts
How do we make meaning of this time as qualitative social work scholars who are personally and professionally committed to racial, economic, and social justice? How do we use our time, resources, knowledge, and skills to further social change and a truly justice-centered social work? What do these crises of COVID-19 and structural racism mean for how we think about our research and scholarship, within the constraints of the institutional structures that we work within? In this essay, we raise questions about what we study and how, the relationship between our roles as scholars and broader systemic issues, and potential tensions in navigating knowledge production within social work and the larger the academic industry
Summary
The conditions within which we do our work are changing as well, raising questions about how we engage in our research and scholarship. Over the past few months, with most of us sheltering-in-place due to the coronavirus pandemic, many aspects of our work have shifted. The impacts are disproportionate and we are not all having the same experience, but it is still significant that we all are in this collective reality together. This calls into question some of the ways that we often position ourselves as researchers and educators—as somehow separate from students or research participants. In this moment/ movement, our shared humanity is significant, regardless of our professional roles. How do we understand our roles in this moment/movement as researchers and community members? How do we continue to engage with the demands of academic research and institutional expectations when our own lives and communities are directly impacted?
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