Decolonial methodology and reflexive wrestles of whiteness

Abstract

This article explores some of the challenges encountered when being a white researcher engaged in research that aims at contributing to social justice for marginalized, indigenous and racialized people and perspectives. Drawing upon a combination of theoretical investigations and practical experiences made during the process of a PhD study, the author offers reflections on what implications taking on a decolonial perspective might have for how a white researcher can possibly approach questions of social and cognitive justice without reinscribing privilege or resorting to self-righteousness. Inspired by Pillow (2015), the author argues that in order to do this, reflexivity need not only be interpretive, but also genealogical, and allow for a “reflexivity of reflexivity”. Furthermore, it is argued that the decolonial stance brings self-reflexivity and ethics together through centring relations as key in accounting for positionality.