Fall 2008

WGS 393 • CHICANA PARTICIP ACTION RSCH

Course Description

This advanced qualitative seminar/field course offers knowledge about feminist social action research methodology. More specifically it emphasizes collaborative feminist participatory action research as praxis within the local sociocultural Chicana context. Objectives: a) To provide an advanced qualitative research methods course exploring participatory feminist(Chicana) social action research b) To examine selected/salient readings portraying diverse theoretical aspects of conducting feminist(Chicana) participatory action research. c) To gain understandings about the ethical dimensions of conducting research with local community groups d) Participants will initiate research pilot projects OR explore possible dissertation topics e) To conduct in class dialogue dealing with related research issues such as issues of power with regard to gender research, scholarship, decolonizing research, bordercrossing epistemologies, and testimonio f) To discuss the potential and implications for social change with newly evolving research paradigms via feminist(Chicana) participatory research models g) To explore the literature depicting emerging strands in feminist participatory research with a special focus Chicana/feminist possibilities and the inherent complexities of such work.

Texts

Arrendondo, G.; Hurtado, N.K.; Najera-Ramirez, O.; and Zavella, P. (Eds).(2003). A critical reader: Chicana Feminisms. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press Hooks,B. (2000). Feminist theory: From margin to center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press Olesen, V. (2003) Feminisms and qualitative research at and into the millennium. In Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (Eds.). The Landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues. London: Sage Publications. (pgs. 332-397) Smith, L.T. (2005). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed books Schwandt, T. (2001). Dictionary of Qualitative Inquiry. London: Sage publications

back