Week 9

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 11:18 PM]

  1. Ethical Issues

Informed Consent: The research must ensure that all participants provide clear, voluntary, and informed consent. Given the sensitivity of the topic, consent should include details about the study’s objectives, the nature of participation, and how the data will be used. Consent process should take into account the educational and cultural background of participants.

Confidentiality: Given the potential for harm if personal information is disclosed (e.g., regarding experiences with violence or activism), the student should prioritize confidentiality.

Cultural Sensitivity: The researcher must approach the subject matter with deep cultural sensitivity, respecting indigenous values and social structures. Consultation with local indigenous organizations or community leaders is critical for ensuring that research methods are culturally appropriate and do not inadvertently cause harm.

Harm and Re-traumatization: Many of the interview topics (displacement, violence, historical trauma) may be emotionally triggering for participants. The student should offer participants the option of discussing distressing topics and should be prepared to deal with such effects.

  1. Data Protection Issues

Given the sensitivity of the data, it is essential to implement stringent data protection measures.. The student should ensure that all data is stored in compliance with relevant privacy laws and that data access is limited to authorized individuals only.

  1. Power and Coercion

There may be a power imbalance between the researcher and participants, especially if the researcher is an outsider to the community or perceived as having more authority. Building trust within the community and making the scope of the research transparent is key to avoiding coercion.

  1. Sensitive Topic

Sensitive Nature of the Topic: The research focuses on themes of displacement, violence, and political marginalization, which are inherently sensitive. These topics need to be handled with respect, ensuring that they do not exacerbate the difficulties faced by the participants or their communities.

  1. Research and participant safety

The research needs to provide detailed explanation of how they intend to keep themselves safe and research participants’ safe enlight of the sensitive topics being discussed, political ramifications and the geographical location.

Risk Level: This project likely falls under the high-risk category due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter (violence, trauma, political repression) and the vulnerable population being researched. There is a potential for harm if appropriate safeguards are not put in place. The student should demonstrate that all risks have been identified and mitigated.

Week 8

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 10:39 PM]

Multimodal Ethnography in My Study: Exploring Race and Kinship at UCL

By employing multimodal ethnography, my study moves beyond surface-level observations to explore the intricate ways in which race, kinship, and identity are experienced, constructed, and represented in the environment of UCL. This approach will provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of student interactions and allow me to examine how these social dynamics evolve within an institutional context shaped by historical, political, and cultural forces.

The multimodal approach is particularly beneficial because it enables richer and more engaging dissemination of findings, appealing to both academic and non-academic audiences. The varied forms of representation—ranging from visual media to digital artifacts—make the findings accessible and compelling for a broader spectrum of individuals, including students, university administrators, and policymakers.

Empowering Participants and Capturing Subtle Nuances

One of the core advantages of multimodal ethnography is that it allows interlocutors to express themselves in diverse and organic ways, such as through images, videos, artifacts, or social media posts. This empowers them with greater agency over their narratives, providing them the freedom to express themselves beyond the constraints of structured interview questions. This approach can reveal subtleties and emotional layers of interpersonal interactions that might be overlooked or underrepresented in traditional verbal or written interviews. Through images, artifacts, and videos, participants have an opportunity to convey the non-verbal, affective aspects of their experiences, such as body language, shared humor, or emotional bonds that may inform their racial and kinship dynamics.

Additionally, correcting interview questions based on participant-driven expressions ensures a more flexible and responsive research methodology, moving away from rigid frameworks to embrace emergent, participant-led dialogue.

Reflexive Journaling and Positionality

As a Black woman conducting this study, I recognize that my positionality plays a significant role in shaping the way I interpret and interact with participants. To examine this, I will maintain a reflexive journal throughout the research process. This journal will serve as a space for me to document my thoughts, emotions, and reactions, particularly when my own experiences or biases may influence the way I perceive interactions. By consistently reflecting on my positionality, I will be better equipped to understand how my own identity as a Black woman in academia shapes my perspective and analysis of student interactions at UCL.

This reflexive practice will not only enhance the credibility of my research by ensuring transparency, but it will also contribute to a critical self-awareness of how my presence as a researcher impacts the study. Reflexivity helps mitigate potential biases, offering a clearer lens for understanding the intersection of race and kinship.

Mapping Interactions and Space Analysis

In addition to interviews and observational data, I will also incorporate spatial analysis into my ethnography. This will involve mapping interactions across UCL’s campus and analyzing the design of communal spaces to understand how physical and digital environments shape social dynamics. For instance, certain areas of the campus might serve as racial or cultural “hotspots,” influencing the formation of specific social groups or fostering a sense of belonging for particular identities.

By mapping where students of different racial backgrounds tend to congregate, I can explore how spaces are used to reinforce or challenge existing boundaries between racial or cultural groups. Additionally, analyzing digital spaces, such as student forums, social media, or university communication channels, provides insight into how students engage in discussions around race, inclusion, and kinship online. This spatial analysis will allow me to critique the effectiveness of UCL’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and how they impact student interactions, social segregation, or cross-cultural collaboration.

Week 5

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 10:00 PM]

The political dimensions of my study lie in its ability to interrogate and challenge the structures, policies, and ideologies that shape social dynamics in educational spaces and beyond. These dimensions operate on multiple levels, including institutional practices, societal power structures, and broader discourses on identity and inclusion. The study is inherently political because it examines how institutions and individuals navigate kinship, race, identity, and belonging in a space like UCL, which is deeply influenced by historical, cultural, and political forces.

UCL’s historical ties to colonialism and imperialist ideologies—such as its association with figures like Francis Galton and eugenics research—underscore the importance of critically examining race and kinship in this context. This investigation calls for a reckoning with UCL’s colonial legacy and its ongoing implications for diversity and equity. It also critiques the effectiveness of the university’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, questioning whether these efforts genuinely foster integration or merely function as symbolic gestures. Moreover, it raises broader societal questions about access to higher education, the persistence of systemic barriers, and who truly belongs in academic spaces.

This research inherently challenges the notion of universities as neutral spaces. Instead, it reveals how they are deeply embedded in and perpetuate societal power dynamics. By highlighting racial and kinship dynamics, the study serves as both a critique and a call to action for UCL and similar institutions to address structural inequalities and reimagine inclusive practices.

As a Black woman conducting this study, my positionality is deeply political. It challenges the norms of who is seen as a legitimate producer of knowledge about race and kinship and offers a perspective that disrupts dominant narratives. My identity not only informs the questions I ask but also positions me as an advocate for more equitable and inclusive academic spaces.

week 3

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 09:34 PM]

Positionality refers to the social and cultural context that informs one’s identity and perspective, including how these intersect with power dynamics. My positionality as a Black woman plays a critical role in shaping how I approach, interpret, and engage with this study.

My personal experiences with systemic racism, microaggressions, and exclusion inform my awareness of racial dynamics, allowing me to recognize subtleties in social interactions that others might overlook. This lived experience provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges and complexities of interracial relationships. While my identity offers valuable insights, it may also influence my expectations or interpretations of certain behaviors. For instance, I might be more attuned to noticing segregation patterns or inequities, which could unintentionally overshadow instances of genuine cross-cultural interaction. Additionally, my shared identity with some participants in the study might foster trust, encouraging more open and honest engagement. However, I must navigate the ethical responsibility of ensuring that I do not project my own lived experiences onto their narratives.

My intersectional identity as a woman enables me to observe how gendered and racialized experiences converge in social interactions. For instance, the predominance of women in interracial groups might reflect broader trends of women engaging more readily in bridge-building across cultures. Being both Black and a woman places me at a unique vantage point, allowing me to critique and navigate the layered experiences of marginalization and representation.

As an anthropologist, I occupy the dual roles of both outsider and insider. As an outsider, I bring the objective lens of a researcher, while as a Black woman, I share certain lived experiences with some of my interlocutors. This duality enriches my analysis, offering insights that might not be accessible to those without my background. However, this access comes with significant responsibility. I must remain reflexive and ensure that my positionality strengthens, rather than biases, the integrity of my research.

Week 7

[Last modified: November, 20 2024 12:45 PM]

While sitting on the stage steps observing the student. I am acutely aware of the weather. It is a cold sunny morning, my body is adjusting to the uk climate but still has a long way to go. I check in with myself, yep mildly irritable because it’s so cold and I’m hungry. Does it show on my face or body language? Does it matter? I am physically not interacting with anyone, but does that take away the energy I’m carrying? Let’s reorient and focus on the task ahead I said to myself. 

I remain focused for another while and then my thoughts drift into a spiral of ethical questions about my research method. Is it enough to just count the number of interracial relations? I think I must engage with my interlocutors to gain a more insightful understanding of interracial relations at UCL. It’s at this moment that my skin felt the rays of the sun intensify, the sky looked brighter. In hindsight my discomfort didn’t not stem from the weather but rather my research method. I need to talk to my interlocutors, interviews is the missing link.

Week 2

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 10:01 PM]

I sat on the steps of the Wilkins building, overlooking UCL’s main quad. The sun seeped through the clouds as I drank my oat flat white and watched students stream through the gates. It was a warm autumn morning in London; I observed students laughing and mingling, their gazes occasionally fixed on their mobile phones as they rushed to classes. Whether in individual clusters or larger groups, there was an undeniable energy in the air, a vibrant pulse of youth and ambition that filled the space around me.

As I watched mobs of students walk by, I became particularly interested in their interracial social interactions. I focused intently on these dynamics, aware of the biases and judgments creeping into my observations. Defenseless against my rigid statistical approach, I felt the weight of my role as an anthropologist. It was crucial that I allow these students the space to express themselves fully, to reveal the nuances of their friendships rather than reduce them to mere statistics. Each interaction held the potential for deeper understanding, and I was determined to capture that richness.

During my hour of observation, I noted only seven interracial friendship groups. These groups averaged three to four members, predominantly composed of women, with only one member from a different racial background. This stark number contrasted sharply with more than thirty groups of friends I watched during that time. Such statistics prompt deeper questions about the factors influencing these social dynamics. Are these patterns merely a reflection of cultural comfort zones, or do they signal deeper systemic issues within the university environment? Within London?

Moreover, I began to consider the implications of my findings. The limited interracial interactions could be indicative of broader societal trends, echoing the complexities of race and identity in a cosmopolitan city like London. It raises important questions about comfort zones and systemic influences. It is worth exploring how factors such as cultural background, previous educational environments, and even social spaces within the university contribute to these patterns.

As I ponder these questions, I recognize the importance of engaging with these students beyond surface-level observations. Engaging with students to hear their stories could provide valuable insights into the motivations and experiences that shape their friendships. We might discover that these dynamics are not just about race but also about shared interests, backgrounds, and experiences that create bonds. Additionally, considering the role of university initiatives in fostering diversity will enrich my analysis. Are there programs aimed at promoting inclusivity that students engage with? How do these efforts influence social interactions? I aim to understand the rich narratives behind friendships and the complexities of identity that shape student life at UCL and its broader implications and relationship with society.

Week 1 Research Proposal

[Last modified: October, 9 2024 01:13 PM]

Research Proposal

Topic

Racial Prejudices Experienced by Medical Professionals in Australia vs. Medical Professionals in England in hospital settings

 

Question

How do racial prejudices manifest in hospital setting?

What drives racial motivations and biases in hospital setting?

How do individuals navigate and overcome racial challenges?

What strategies are employed to challenge racial prejudice and how effective are they?

 

Methods

This study will employ qualitative comparative research design to understand racial prejudice in hospital settings. It will allow exploration of personal experiences and institutional dynamics from a cross-cultural perspective.

 

The sample will be composed of a diverse range of medical professionals including: doctors, nurses, administrative staff; with a focus on people of colour and immigrant groups. Semi- structured interviews will be conducted with medical professionals across both settings. A focus group will be conducted to explore collective narratives around racial prejudice and methods of coping. Data collected will be analysed using thematic coding to identify patterns and themes of racial prejudice, coping strategies and institutional responses. The data from both contexts will be compared to identify similarities and differences of racial prejudice and strategies to overcome these challenges.

 

Potential finding

 

This study will contribute to medical anthropology and understanding of institutional racism in healthcare setting across different cultural contexts. The research will provide insights into how racial prejudice differs in these two medical contexts while identifying the source of motivational biases whether structural, historical or cultural. It will uncover themes driving racial biases in hospital settings. The study will reveal how medical professionals navigate and process these challenges and highlight effective strategies in combating racism in hospital settings. Findings from this study may inform institutional policy changes.

 

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