Where race, emotions and research meet: Moving towards a framework of race critical researcher praxis

Abstract

This chapter considers the intersections between race, emotions and qualitative research that occurred in the context of two studies conducted by an African American, female researcher with participants who were White and of color. To do this Brown critically reflects on experiences in the field using a conceptual framework she calls race critical researcher praxis. This framework is informed by critical emotional reflexivity, critical theories on race, Black political thought and researcher reflexivity on race. Brown proposes that engagement with race critical researcher praxis is useful in two ways. First it critically addresses how race and emotions operate in research. Second it allows one to attend to researcher identities and encounters in the field as everyday, individual level factors and those connected to larger institutional, historically situated patterns of interactions.