Academic Research and the Problem of “Othering”

There was a great article in the New York Times yesterday about Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown Eatonville, FL and how it tries to preserve its legacy in the face of tourism and academic research.

The article made me reflect on my own research experiences as an undergrad where I focused on the racial and sexual identities of black teens and what impact those indentities have on their views of education and career aspirations.  Essentially I had to get very close with the students which was not always easy.

Early on I noticed that the the consequence of academic research is the sense of “othering” that emerges.  It can feel like a drive by love affair: I come in, ask you personal questions, get you to trust me, we become intimate, but I leave, often severing any ties built.  My research is used by god knows who to do god knows what, presummably in your community, yet you have no idea of what the plans are.

However, what stood out to me in the NYT article were the demands that members of that community make when people want to “study” them. 

Advance permission is required for most interviews, and certain things — like the murals at Eatonville’s oldest church, painted by a white man, showing black men in the fields — are not allowed to be photographed.

Many in Eatonville, like Ms. Jones, a bold, confident teacher partial to bright red, still fear that their insular community will be misunderstood.

And yet, as the Hurston festival has expanded, a heightened level of hometown pride has also emerged. Young people, in particular, tend to see Eatonville as Hurston saw her entire race: beautiful, problems and all, no better, no worse and as proud, creative, hard-working, silly and mixed-up as other racial and ethnic groups in America.

That last line really hit me.  While various groups certainly have unique histories and unique experiences, it is crucial that we put their lives in the greater context of this country and of our own lives.  The more we realize how connected our stories are and how our behaviors impact others the less likely we are to remove ourselves.  We should push ourselves to be objective while being dedicated to the people–not just the project.

We should spend time learning about the community itself before conducting our research, paying attention the boundaries, rules, and codes in place and respecting them.

We should be upfront about what our goals are and what we intend to do with our research.  While we all have specific goals and interests in our research that must be met, whatever we produce should be shared in terms that the community in which we researched could understand.

We should give something back.  If your research pushes you to advocacy and encourages you to continue building relationships, that’s an excellent outcome.  We can also ask what needs there are in the community and investigate how we can help–perhaps that question alone can inform your research. 

We should discuss our research with the community before we conduct it.  Why?  Not to throw your ideas out of the window, but to better inform them. 

I came into a neighborhood looking to talk about sexuality and ended up focusing on a problematic organization that ignored and mistreated the teens.  I certainly paid attention to sexuality but had I not enaged the teens on what was important to them at that time I would have missed how the organization treats them based on their views of sex.  Additionally, maybe they know a person to talk to or an organization to contact. 

Most undergraduate research is controlled in terms of topic and time.  But I really recommend restructuring how we be deliberate and thoughtful in our approach so that understanding and trust is built early on.