A Brief Reflection on Methods and Conceptual Framings

Abstract

This book is a collection of different voices who have shared with me their pain, their strength, their challenges, their courage, and their resistance to racism in the academy. For years I have found myself engaged in the same conversation with academics of colour, from all over the globe, always prompted by the question, ‘so how is work?’ The familiar response is that of an eye roll, followed by a sigh, and even a slight laugh, alerting the other to what we already know, what we already feel, and what we are already experiencing in our own university. And just like that we share; we share the all too recognizable stories, the frustrations, the relief that we are not alone, paranoid, or being unreasonable. We listen, we laugh, and we see in each other’s eyes that we are together in our struggle. We smile, because in that moment we feel stronger, and grateful that we have had the space be heard. I am thankful to my academic friends of colour who over the years have listened to me, allowed me to share, and provided me with the strength and support that I would have never had gotten elsewhere.