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What we're listening to rn 
Presentation of #BukavuSeries project & the ethics of research in the 'Global South.' Dr. Mudinga project started w/aim for more reflexivity on our positionality & how research contributes to inequality @AngazaInstitute @ISDRBukavu @LSECRP @lseideas https://twitter.com/lseideas/status/1352214603707637763
Presentation of #BukavuSeries project & the ethics of research in the 'Global South.' Dr. Mudinga project started w/aim for more reflexivity on our positionality & how research contributes to inequality @AngazaInstitute @ISDRBukavu @LSECRP @lseideas https://twitter.com/lseideas/status/1352214603707637763
The (Silent) Voices: Bukavu Series is a collection of 36 blog articles written by local Congolese researchers in Bukavu, eastern DRC. The blogs are available in English and French, read here: https://www.gicnetwork.be/silent-voices-blog-bukavu-series-eng/
The Bukavu Series was created into a book, which features cartoon illustrations by Congolese political cartoonist, Tembo Kash. The book is available to buy online in English and French: https://pul.uclouvain.be/book/?gcoi=29303100831960
Dr. Mudinga: Several stereotypes condition how researchers from the 'Global N' interact w/researchers from the 'Global S': GS researchers are only in it for the $, don't know how to write, don't need publications, & not equal partners b/c did not write design. What explains this?
Dr. Mudinga: These attitudes result from 1) reproduction of colonial pasts 2) financial means given to Global N researcher & this 'privilege' allows them to dominate 3) financial/pol conditions of Global S researcher forces them to enter into these unequal relationships...
4)Global N researcher doesn't understand the complex social systems in which the Global S researcher is embedded AND does not bother to have these conversations.
Dr. Mudinga ends on: Research should be about: 1) solidarity 2) CO-production
Dr. Mudinga ends on: Research should be about: 1) solidarity 2) CO-production
@AngazaInstitute @ISDRBukavu @LSECRP @lseideas Second panelist Irene Bahati, speaking on the experience of being a female researcher in conflict settings particularly the DRC. Stereotypes & local attitudes pose challenges for women researchers in the field...
Female researchers are stigmatized b/c they break w/traditional gender roles, & are not seen as competent or professional as male colleagues. Some mistook her & other female researchers for prostitutes when working in the research field. As a result, many female researchers quit
Irene Bahati continues...however, female researchers are invaluable bridges to female research participants in particular on sensitive subjects like #GBV or female #Ebola survivors, they were more open and trusting of her. A mixed research team is therefore an advantage as well.
Together w/female researchers, Bahati formed a platform called Le Grenelle des Femmes Chercheuses to reunite women around a common interest in research, and dialogue and communication on common challenges & experiences. https://www.facebook.com/pg/FemmesChercheuses/posts/?ref=page_internal
3rd panelist: Dr. Devon Curtis, what does this mean for researchers in Global N? What does it mean to fight for change? Starting w/ one of the cartoons from #BukavuSeries
Dr. Curtis: who gets to define the research ? Who gets to define the research design? Who gets to define the methods?
Here's what Global N researchers need to do:
1) Trace the colonial legacies in our bodies of knowledge b/c this is what shapes our research designs & methods
Here's what Global N researchers need to do:
1) Trace the colonial legacies in our bodies of knowledge b/c this is what shapes our research designs & methods
These colonial legacies shape our conceptual frameworks. We need to question the assumptions upon which they are based. We need to question how our institutions reproduce these inequalities and divisions.
2) Think about the African continent not only as an OBJECT of knowledge but as a SITE of knowledge production.
Expand our conceptions of "sources of knowledge", diversify our reading lists, expand what "counts" as research beyond 'high-impact' journals and publications
Expand our conceptions of "sources of knowledge", diversify our reading lists, expand what "counts" as research beyond 'high-impact' journals and publications
3) Think about access, reciprocity & solidarity.
Think about extractive nature of research. Global S researchers should be CO-authors, not just thanked in acknowledgements. Research produced should be open source & accessible by communities we write about.
Think about extractive nature of research. Global S researchers should be CO-authors, not just thanked in acknowledgements. Research produced should be open source & accessible by communities we write about.
@AngazaInstitute @ISDRBukavu @LSECRP @lseideas
Dr. Nimesh Dhungana showing another cartoon in the series asks: "Where is the humanity in the research collaboration?"
Dr. Nimesh Dhungana showing another cartoon in the series asks: "Where is the humanity in the research collaboration?"
The questions raised by & implications of the #BukavuSeries extend well beyond the DRC. All researchers should reflect on the ethics, power dynamics, & practices involved in conducting research and what real partnership & co-production of research looks like. This requires...
...breaking from positivist notions of researcher as a neutral, objective observer & acknowledging the intersubjective nature of producing knowledge & how researchers' identities affect the research process. Thank you @AngazaInstitute @IsdrBukavu @lseideas for this impt dialogue.
