The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship

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dc.contributor.advisorSwartz, Sallyen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWomersley, Gailen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-02T10:59:12Z
dc.date.available2015-11-02T10:59:12Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 68-77).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractDespite the psychically toxic nature of shame, and the way in which it manifests so acutely within intersubjective spaces, it has historically been under-researched and under-theorised. However, a burgeoning of literature in recent years has brought an increasing awareness of shame as a pathogenic force. An investigation of this noxious affect is especially pertinent in the context of qualitative feminist research in South Africa, marked by a myriad of class, gender and race differentials between researcher and researched. I therefore consider the significant effect of shame on a specific dialogue which unfolded between myself and a research participant in the course of interviewing rape survivors in Cape Town. The interview is examined through the dual analytic resources of psychodynamic theory and reflexive research practice, with a view to gaining a deeper understanding of the implications of this noxious affect for feminist reflexive research. The analysis reveals the ubiquitous manifestations of shame within the intersubjective space, traceable through the three markers of the affect; namely the content of the narrative, the form or structure of the interaction as well as my own emotional memory of the event. The analysis tracks the shame which arose in such a research context, demonstrating how shame neither belongs exclusively to the self or the other, but is unavoidably generated, exacerbated and maintained within the relational, intersubjective field. A particular exploration of its manifestations on the micro-level of the research relationship through the analytic resource of psychodynamic understanding, highlights the necessity of feminist reflexive practice considering shame. What is highlighted is a need to reflexively locate the emotion within our racialised, gendered and institutionalised research relationships, and to wrestle with the implications this has for meaning-making and embodied subjectivity. Such a consideration would arguably provide invaluable insights for feminist reflexive research and practise as it pays critical attention to positionality, reflexivity, the production of knowledge and the power relations that are inherent in research processes.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationWomersley, G. (2010). <i>The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14618en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWomersley, Gail. <i>"The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14618en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWomersley, G. 2010. The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Womersley, Gail AB - Despite the psychically toxic nature of shame, and the way in which it manifests so acutely within intersubjective spaces, it has historically been under-researched and under-theorised. However, a burgeoning of literature in recent years has brought an increasing awareness of shame as a pathogenic force. An investigation of this noxious affect is especially pertinent in the context of qualitative feminist research in South Africa, marked by a myriad of class, gender and race differentials between researcher and researched. I therefore consider the significant effect of shame on a specific dialogue which unfolded between myself and a research participant in the course of interviewing rape survivors in Cape Town. The interview is examined through the dual analytic resources of psychodynamic theory and reflexive research practice, with a view to gaining a deeper understanding of the implications of this noxious affect for feminist reflexive research. The analysis reveals the ubiquitous manifestations of shame within the intersubjective space, traceable through the three markers of the affect; namely the content of the narrative, the form or structure of the interaction as well as my own emotional memory of the event. The analysis tracks the shame which arose in such a research context, demonstrating how shame neither belongs exclusively to the self or the other, but is unavoidably generated, exacerbated and maintained within the relational, intersubjective field. A particular exploration of its manifestations on the micro-level of the research relationship through the analytic resource of psychodynamic understanding, highlights the necessity of feminist reflexive practice considering shame. What is highlighted is a need to reflexively locate the emotion within our racialised, gendered and institutionalised research relationships, and to wrestle with the implications this has for meaning-making and embodied subjectivity. Such a consideration would arguably provide invaluable insights for feminist reflexive research and practise as it pays critical attention to positionality, reflexivity, the production of knowledge and the power relations that are inherent in research processes. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship TI - The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14618 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14618
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWomersley G. The construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14618en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherClinical Psychologyen_ZA
dc.titleThe construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationshipen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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