Posts in Category: Mentorship

MENTOR MEETING II

On Wednesday, December 5, 2018 I met with Dr. Susan Shepler for about twenty minutes. I explained my present struggle with deciding whether to embark on an official discourse analysis, as I originally planned, or to follow the nagging thoughts I have been experiencing, telling me to develop a popular discourse research project. Dr. Shepler explained how she, as an ethnographer, decides what puzzles to chase. Ethnographers, she said, become anthropologists of one particular place. She began studying Sierra Leone as a Peace Corps volunteer and has returned several times to solve more puzzles and further understand her place of interest. Though I have not chosen to perform an ethnography, Dr. Shepler advised me to follow whatever direction passion pull me- whether that be the reproduced meanings found in popular or official discourse.

On a more concrete note, Dr. Shepler advised me to read books on feminist methodology to guide my methodology before and during my research project in SISU-306. In particular she suggested three books: Doing Feminist Research In Political and Social Science, Feminist Methodologies for Critical Researchers, and Feminist Methodologies for International Relations.[1] Prior to the meeting I had read quite a few pieces of feminist research, many of which helped me form my “buckets” for my literature review. However I had not seen feminist research as a form my own project could take. Though I knew intimate partner violence to be a feminist issue, I believed my project to be moreso a legal or social analysis rather than a feminist one (although feminism is a branch of social theory). While I initially found my identity as a researcher and as a feminist to be separate entities, this discovery has lead me to further understand the notion of reflexivity which will allow me to better develop my paper. Originally I had examined my Italian identity as the foremost important element to my reflexivity, as I am one with the Italian history, language, and culture and I am examining. However my feminist identity is yet another element that in fact is just as significant as it not only provides me a certain lens with which I understand phenomenon, but through my research it will connect me to past and future feminist scholars, thinkers, and activists.

NOTES

[1] Ackerly, Brooke, and Jacqui True. Doing Feminist Research in Political and Social Science. 2010 edition. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave, 2010; Sprague, Joey. Feminist Methodologies for Critical Researchers: Bridging Differences, Second Edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2005; Ackerly, Brooke, Maria Stern, and Jacqui True. Feminist Methodologies for International Relations. Cambridge University Press, 2006.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ackerly, Brooke, and Jacqui True. Doing Feminist Research in Political and Social Science. 2010 edition. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave, 2010.

Ackerly, Brooke, Maria Stern, and Jacqui True. Feminist Methodologies for International Relations. Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Sprague, Joey. Feminist Methodologies for Critical Researchers: Bridging Differences, Second Edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2005.

MENTOR MEETING

On Tuesday, September 11th I met with my faculty mentor, Dr. Susan Shepler, for roughly thirty minutes. Prior to this meeting I sat down with Professor Boesenecker to discuss my project and he advised me to explore my topic area on a broader scale, rather than focusing on one specific country, even one specific region. With that in mind I met with Dr. Shepler to better understand the conversation surrounding femicide and existing literature that scholars have produced. Dr. Shepler suggested that in this stage of my research, I perform what she dubbed “basketting,” or categorizing various theories surrounding femicide to better understand the existing conversation. Within these “baskets,” scholars may understand femicide by looking at psychology, law, culture, or the Human Rights regime. In particular, Dr. Shepler suggested I browse through Annual Reviews which compile wide-ranging information on a single topic. After reading such literature, she suggested I then create an annotated bibliography, for personal use, to better compile the knowledge I gain and see where my particular puzzle may lay.

Later on in the meeting, we discussed my project in greater detail. I expressed my interest in researching a cultural explanation of inter-partner violence in Italy. Dr. Shepler invited me to read Gender Violence, a Cultural Perspective, an anthropological perspective of gender violence including domestic violence and murder. [1] She also sent me a link to a study examining sexual violence in Sierra Leone. [2] I informed Dr. Shepler of my desire to, perhaps somewhere down the line in the 306 course, conduct an ethnography. We discussed ways in which to make this dream feasible, perhaps by looking into the Italian Diaspora in the US, in particular in the Washington DC area. Should that not be satisfactory in conducting a proper ethnography, Dr. Shepler suggested I use various methods including interviews and archival analysis that could be conducted with more facility. Lastly, Dr. Shepler shared her own experience with the conversation revolving gender-based violence. Sheplar was recently in Buenos Aires and Mexico City and saw hundreds of pink crosses displayed across fences and along the city streets. Simply making the issue of femicide visible, without engaging in discourse or violence, shows how powerful and important this issue truly is on an international level.

A challenge I face at this point is ceasing my tendency to get ahead of myself and dive into a puzzle without first examining the scope of femicide at a broad level. Moving forward, I will do just this: read scholarship Dr. Shepler suggested and dive deep into my topic so I can familiarize myself with it many facets.

NOTES

[1] Merry, Sally Engle. Gender Violence: A Cultural Perspective. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

[2] Schneider, Luisa Theresia. “Partners as Possession: A Qualitative Exploration of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence in Freetown, Sierra Leone.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma 0, no. 0 (August 28, 2018): 1–19.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Merry, Sally Engle. Gender Violence: A Cultural Perspective. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

Schneider, Luisa Theresia. “Partners as Possession: A Qualitative Exploration of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence in Freetown, Sierra Leone.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma 0, no. 0 (August 28, 2018): 1–19.