Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools
With her book "Researching 'Race' and Ethnicity: Methods Knowledge and Power," Yasmin GUNARATNAM makes a thoughtful contribution to the ongoing methodological debate on the concepts of "race" and ethnicity in qualitative research. She addresses some of the central conce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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FQS
2006-03-01
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| Series: | Forum: Qualitative Social Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/118 |
| _version_ | 1811277363620610048 |
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| author | Hella von Unger |
| author_facet | Hella von Unger |
| author_sort | Hella von Unger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With her book "Researching 'Race' and Ethnicity: Methods Knowledge and Power," Yasmin GUNARATNAM makes a thoughtful contribution to the ongoing methodological debate on the concepts of "race" and ethnicity in qualitative research. She addresses some of the central concerns of the debate, including current conceptual approaches and practical research dilemmas involved in working with the concepts of "race" and "ethnicity." Following the tradition of critical "race" studies, she notes the inherent tendency of these concepts to essentialize and naturalize socially constructed differences and suggests analytic approaches that work both with and against these categories. She also comments on the procedure of "racial matching" (of interviewer and participant) and the related North-American debate on "'race'-of-interviewer-effects." Using her own empirical data from an ethnographic study on the construction of "race" and ethnicity in a hospice setting in the UK, she illustrates the complexities of the subject matter and the indispensable value of self-reflexivity in the research process. Shortcomings of the book relate to its occasional conceptual vagueness and proliferation of different theoretical approaches and the resulting lack of a central methodological theme that links the different chapters. However, the book provides a stimulating introduction to the field and constitutes a useful resource for teaching qualitative research methods in the context of "race" and ethnicity. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0602210 |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:15:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18d994e814c74da3b1d5c26c57953ab9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1438-5627 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:15:25Z |
| publishDate | 2006-03-01 |
| publisher | FQS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forum: Qualitative Social Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-18d994e814c74da3b1d5c26c57953ab92022-12-22T03:10:57ZdeuFQSForum: Qualitative Social Research1438-56272006-03-0172117Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and ToolsHella von Unger0Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB)With her book "Researching 'Race' and Ethnicity: Methods Knowledge and Power," Yasmin GUNARATNAM makes a thoughtful contribution to the ongoing methodological debate on the concepts of "race" and ethnicity in qualitative research. She addresses some of the central concerns of the debate, including current conceptual approaches and practical research dilemmas involved in working with the concepts of "race" and "ethnicity." Following the tradition of critical "race" studies, she notes the inherent tendency of these concepts to essentialize and naturalize socially constructed differences and suggests analytic approaches that work both with and against these categories. She also comments on the procedure of "racial matching" (of interviewer and participant) and the related North-American debate on "'race'-of-interviewer-effects." Using her own empirical data from an ethnographic study on the construction of "race" and ethnicity in a hospice setting in the UK, she illustrates the complexities of the subject matter and the indispensable value of self-reflexivity in the research process. Shortcomings of the book relate to its occasional conceptual vagueness and proliferation of different theoretical approaches and the resulting lack of a central methodological theme that links the different chapters. However, the book provides a stimulating introduction to the field and constitutes a useful resource for teaching qualitative research methods in the context of "race" and ethnicity. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0602210http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/118raceethnicityracializationracial matchingmethodological debatequalitative social research |
| spellingShingle | Hella von Unger Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools Forum: Qualitative Social Research race ethnicity racialization racial matching methodological debate qualitative social research |
| title | Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools |
| title_full | Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools |
| title_fullStr | Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools |
| title_short | Review Essay: Working With and Against the Concepts of "Race" and "Ethnicity": Research Dilemmas and Tools |
| title_sort | review essay working with and against the concepts of race and ethnicity research dilemmas and tools |
| topic | race ethnicity racialization racial matching methodological debate qualitative social research |
| url | http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/118 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hellavonunger reviewessayworkingwithandagainsttheconceptsofraceandethnicityresearchdilemmasandtools |