Beyond "cool" and "hip:" engaging the question of research and writing as academic Self-woman of color Other

Abstract

This article presents a self-reflexive analysis of the situatedness of the author and her work - research and writing - as a woman of color in the academy. The author critically examines self-reflexivity in relation to her research by drawing on her lived experiences as academic Self-woman of color Other, first as an international doctoral student and now as a junior faculty member. Drawing on critical and feminist perspectives, she argues that such self-reflexivity allows for an openness which eliminates the apparent dichotomy of Self-Other and offers new spaces for re-presenting difference(s). In particular, she construes her writing as a self-renewing site of activism and resistance to Othering and her teaching as praxis and self-assessment. She concludes that cutting-edge research and writing, when rigorously self-reflexive, are beyond "cool" and "hip," allowing us to maintain integrity and agency as educators and researchers.