Muslim researcher researching Muslim youth: reflexive notes on critical ethnography, positionality and representation

• Published in: Ethnography and education Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Author: Miled, Neila
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02.01.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age Differences; Critical ethnography; Educational Experience; Ethnicity; Ethnography; Gender Issues; High School Students; Muslim; Muslims; Positionality; Power Structure; Racial profiling; Reflection; Reflexivity; Religious Factors; representation; research dilemmas; Research Methodology; Researcher subject relations; Researchers; Social Science Research; Student Experience; Youth
• ISSN: 1745-7823; 1745-7831
• DOI: 10.1080/17457823.2017.1387063

As a Muslim researcher conducting a critical ethnography about/with/for Muslim youth and their school experiences, at this time of intensified Islamophobia and overwhelming discourses of hate against Muslims, the boundaries of the personal and the academic become blurry and confusing. This paper emerges from my subjective/academic experiences as a Muslim researcher, and my reflections on reflexivity, positionality and representation while conducting my ethnographic research in a high-school setting with Muslim youth. In this paper, I present a review of the different concepts of critical ethnography that are framing my research decisions and I highlight the complexity of the insider/outsider positionality for a Muslim researcher doing research with Muslim youth and the intersections of religion, gender, class, ethnicity and age in positioning her in the field. The paper presents different ethical dilemmas that I have encountered during the first six months of my fieldwork.