Feminism and community psychology: Compelling convergences.

Community psychologists have contributed significantly to the body of literature on community-based participatory research (CBPR) and its application in understanding and addressing health and community participation disparities. At the core of CBPR are mutually beneficial partnerships with communities, whereby community members' voices are heard and they become co-researchers, helping guide the research process. In this article, I argue that for community psychologists to change the landscape of community participation, health, and well-being disparities experienced by many vulnerable populations who often face multiple forms of oppression, CBPR needs to be transformative and emancipatory. Stakeholders must be meaningfully involved as co-creators of knowledge and promoters of social justice embracing a human rights agenda. Drawing from work conducted with Latinx immigrant families with youth who have disabilities, I propose the following strategies moving forward: promoting meaningful participation of community members as co-creators of knowledge; promoting meaningful conversations that matter to communities; promoting civic engagement, activism, and advocacy; promoting an assets-and strengths-based approach to research; and promoting culturally relevant interventions. Community psychologists have the opportunity to make significant contributions to addressing disparities when community residents' knowledge is valued and recognized.

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaningful Engagement in Research: Community Residents as Co‐creators of Knowledge

Suárez-Balcázar

2020

“…A feminist approach to social research is to prioritize the voices of those who "live" an experience and abandon the notion of a "neutral" observer who has some sort of uncomplicated or objective view into the experiences of others (Fine, 1992;Riger, 2017;Unger, 1983). This is not just about asking different people the same questions.…”

Section: Namingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scholarship for Social Change: Reflections of an Accidental Academic

Bond

2020

In this article, I describe how I stumbled my way into an academic career doing research to promote social change toward greater equity and inclusion. I reflect on how my path has been informed by my own experiences with harassment, marginalization, and privilege. These reflections build upon the belief that we are all informed by our histories, vantage points, and social locations and that those forces shape the questions we ask, the way we ask them, how and where we look for evidence, and what we do with the results once we get them. My diverse, urban high school experience combined with my circuitous educational path did not portend great potential to become an academic. I describe experiences that expanded my awareness and opened up opportunities to grow and expand upon my role as an activist scholar. Through examples from my own work, I explore three possible functions of research that can contribute to social change: (a) NAMING, which leads to awareness, recognition, and engagement; (b) FRAMING, which expands our view beyond the moment and specific instances and leads to the identification and disruption of constraining contextual circumstances and assumptions; and (c) CATALYZING action, which builds momentum and promotes capacity for action.

“…My colleague of the last 15 years Stephanie Riger has done a lot of heavy lifting here with respect to feminist inquiry (Riger 1992(Riger , 2016. Multiple philosophies of science emerged in the 1980 to enrich, modify, counteract, or oppose positivistic perspectives on research.…”

Section: Seymour ''Plus çA Change'' and Evidence-based Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple philosophies of science emerged in the 1980 to enrich, modify, counteract, or oppose positivistic perspectives on research. My colleague of the last 15 years Stephanie Riger has done a lot of heavy lifting here with respect to feminist inquiry (Riger 1992(Riger , 2016. Jack Tebes has done a lovely job providing a modified contextualist perspective for the field (Tebes 2005(Tebes , 2016.…”

Section: Seymour ''Plus çA Change'' and Evidence-based Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Seymour Sarason Remembered: “Plus ça change…”, “Psychology Misdirected”, and “Community Psychology and the Anarchist Insight”

Trickett

2015

The intellectual legacy of Seymour Sarason continues to serve as a critical resource for the field of community psychology. The present paper draws on one of Sarason's favorite aphorisms and two of his seminal writings to suggest the relevance of ideas articulated 35-40 years ago for the current time. Each in their own way highlights the importance of unearthing and interrogating core assumptions underlying our research and our efforts to make a positive difference. The aphorism reminds us that the rhetoric of change is far easier to articulate than to enact and all too often ignores or disguises issues of power among actors. The "misdirection" of Psychology reflected his assertion that the asocial, acultural, and ahistorical nature of American Psychology reflected American culture more generally and ill prepared it to understand and engage in social change, particularly with respect to educational reform. The "anarchist insight" articulated his belief in interrogating the implications of the increasingly interdependent relationship of science and the state for the autonomy of scientists and scientific inquiry. The evidence-based practice movement is offered as an example of the current day relevance of the aphorism and core insights of these two papers. The paper concludes with a plea to rekindle the discussion and continued examination of Sarason's paradigmatic insights for the intellectual and social development of the field.