2023 Revolutionizing Research for Social Change Summer Institute fellows gather at Mason’s Point of View retreat facility in Lorton. Photo Credit: Katharine Rupp
In early June, a cohort of select students interested in careers in social science research participated in George Mason University’s Revolutionizing Research for Social Change summer institute, a week-long workshop focusing on anti-racist and decolonizing research methods. Master’s and doctoral students from 18 universities across the U.S. and Canada gathered at the Fairfax Campus and at Mason’s Point of View retreat facility in Lorton to connect and collaborate with revolutionary researchers who engage anti-racist principles and practices.
“The goal of the program is to support universities and social science researchers to engage in inquiry and knowledge building in ways that reduce harm, stretch us to be more innovative in thinking about research methods, and compel us to situate scientific inquiry in history,” said Amy Best, professor of Sociology and director of Mason’s Center for Social Sciences Research. Best co-directs the summer institute with Khaseem Davis, executive director of Mason’s Early Identification Program, and Meagan Call-Cummings, associate professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University. Best added, “The summer institute represents the types of knowledge and learning innovations Mason has not only been proud to support, but also be the first in doing.”
Multidisciplinary research panels and methods practice
This year, the program received 250 applications from students interested in participating. Twenty-eight fellows were selected, representing a broad range of social science fields—psychology, history, anthropology, sociology, and education—in addition to other fields including nursing, public health, and medicine. Throughout the week, participants examined research methods including participatory and community-based methods, interviewing and oral history, sharing circles, ethnography, critical quantitative methods, historical-comparative research, and archival methods. Each day, fellows attended informal lunches with Mason faculty and administrative mentors and participated in multidisciplinary research panels and methods practice workshops. The event was facilitated by Sharrell Hassell-Goodman (PhD, Education, 23) and Robert Graham (PhD, Education, ‘20), assistant clinical professor in the Honors College at University of Maryland College Park. Both specialize in anti-racist and decolonizing research approaches.
“The summer institute emphasizes appreciative social science approaches to inquiry in order to not reproduce or worsen, through our research methods, the very problems we seek to understand and address,” Best said, adding that the program, which received Anti-Racism & Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Seed Funding, is part of a broader project to recover and reclaim approaches to knowledge creation that have been subjugated through colonial history and racial exclusion. The cohort strives to provide tools for knowledge building that is equitable, restorative and just, and to conduct research with communities and groups that benefits them, builds trust, and honors the expertise people have about their own lives and communities.
Fostering new perspectives and building community
Tahani Chaudhry, a Mason Psychology doctoral student who is researching the role of religious institutions in supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, described the summer institute as a “transformative experience” in her academic research career. “The week-long training was thoughtfully organized to introduce us participants to new strategies and techniques to carry out research in a way that is beyond just ethical but in line with our values of social change and justice,” she said. “The best part was that the summer institute was not trying to teach us how to do research right, but instead starting conversations, being innovative together and building community.”
Nicole L. Harris, a second-year Public Health doctoral student at the University of South Florida whose research interests include using a Black feminist perspective to understand the root causes of disrespect during prenatal care, exploring how Black women resist and re-story narratives that fuel their mistreatment, and using these insights to fuel liberatory clinical practice, participated in the workshop. Following the event, Harris commented, “In my time in graduate school, I can count on one hand the genuinely transformative experiences I’ve had, where I’ve walked away feeling empowered with a new perspective and tools but humbled by the vastness of all that’s still out there to learn. I count the Institute among those experiences.”
The network and relationships built through the workshop are a crucial part of the program. “We hear time and again that anti-racist and decolonizing work is isolating. As students, this can be especially difficult,” Summer Institute co-director Call-Cummings, said. “Coming away from this week with 40 new friends, resources, mentors that will help support the participants on their professional path is a huge boost to continuing in the work.”
Applications for next year’s Revolutionizing Research for Social Change summer institute will open in early 2024. Visit the Center for Social Science Research website for more information.
July 18, 2023