"Ideal Dialogues with Immigrants of Color in Sweden and the U.S.: A Participatory-Ethnographic Approach," a new study co-authored by Lory Dance, was recently published in the Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research. She discussed the research on their podcast, which can be listened to below.
Dance is an associate professor of sociology and ethnic studies and the associate director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies. Her areas of specialization include educational inequality, racial and ethnic groups, and urban sociology.
From the abstract:
"Combine Collins' (1998) concept of outsiders-within, Habermas' (1985, 1990) theory of communicative action, Saukko's (2005) notion of dialogic validity, and new limitations are revealed about ideal speech situations. As explained by Dillon (2014), an ideal speech situation uses "reason not to dominate or bully [participants in a discussion] but to seek...a common understanding...[and] plans for mutually agreed, future action" (p. 214).
"In the present study, we, as outsiders-within, approximated ideal speech situations in order to facilitate feedback from marginalized immigrant communities in Sweden and the United States. Through the results of the present study, we suggest that even self-reflexive outsiders-within, who prioritize dialogue and reciprocity, can fall short of creating ideal speech situations. However, dialogic dynamics were productive enough to empower participants to act as consultants and provide constructive and deconstructive recommendations that included refining key concepts, addressing problematic research assumptions, and relocating interviews to more participant-friendly milieus."
