Research Opportunity: Genealogies of PAR: Interrogating the Ideological Assumptions of the “Founders” of Participatory Action Research
This research opportunity is part of the Urban Studies Research Program. Students who participate will work with their faculty mentor, and will also share their findings at a research symposium with students and faculty working on other projects. To learn more about the Urban Studies Research Program, see our website.
Project Title: Genealogies of PAR: Interrogating the Ideological Assumptions of the “Founders” of Participatory Action Research
Faculty Member: Joanne Tien
Abstract: Community-based or participatory research arose in response to critiques of the positivist view of science, in which knowledge is understood as “objective,” generalizable, and power-neutral. In contrast, community-based or participatory action research advocates non-hierarchical relationships between researcher and participants, the examination of researchers’ positionality in the research process, the centering of community participants in defining, analyzing and solving the research problem, and the use of research for the explicit purpose of benefiting and empowering oppressed communities. In so doing, community-based research (CBR) promises to provide a means to produce “socially just” or “ethical” scholarship. Though scholars have complicated the assumption that CBR is able to do this without question, CBR is still often regarded as a “silver bullet” to producing ethical research. This project calls these assumptions into question by examining the origins of participatory action research and the ideological assumptions of its founders. While participatory action research draws on critical, feminist, and decolonial traditions, it also has roots in academic social science. In fact, John Collier, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is often regarded as among its original “founders”. This historical archival project examines the records of John Collier, as well as secondary sources, to understand his ideological assumptions as it related to issues of race and colonialism, and how these intersected with his conceptualization of action research. This project then compares these perspectives with that of participatory action research as understood through critical, feminist, and decolonial traditions. By examining the assumptions behind the many traditions that have influenced CBR today, this study illuminates the complexities involved in practicing CBR and producing ethical scholarship in university-based settings.
- Develop an annotated bibliography on the history of what we call participatory action research today. This bibliography will include sources from action research (John Collier, Kurt Lewin, etc.), as well as from critical pedagogy, and feminist and decolonial traditions. The bibliography will be used to write a literature review.
- Help with systematically analyzing archival data from the records of John Collier
- Support with going through the microfilm to identify records directly related to Collier's writing on action research. The RA will be taught how to code the data for major themes
- Together, we will develop a codebook and analyze the data, using multiple iterations of coding. From this analysis we will co-write an article for publication
- Learn how to write a literature review, systematically analyze archival data, and write an article for academic publication. Also, learn about the history of community-based research and participatory action research, and learn about its affordances, while being able to take a critical lens to its approach
Qualifications:
It would be helpful if the RA had a background in critical, feminist, or decolonial theory or traditions of research, or community-based research / service-learning. Coding skills will be taught.
Enrollment & Academic Standing:
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Students must be current undergraduates in good standing at Stanford.
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Students must be enrolled in units while using VPUE grant funding, except during the Summer.
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Students may not receive both academic units and a stipend for any single project activity.
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Co-terms who have not conferred their undergraduate degree and who are still paying undergraduate (not graduate) tuition are eligible for VPUE funding.
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Students may not be serving a suspension.
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Students may not be on a Leave of Absence (LOA) while using grant funding.
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VPUE does not use a GPA requirement for student eligibility, nor does VPUE encourage the use of GPA as a criterion for inclusion in a research opportunity.
Quarters Available:
- Winter, part-time
Stipend:
Part-time projects: $1500 per quarter; 10 hours / week.
