Unfolding Stories
A story is not a finished map, it’s a path taking shape as you walk it. This is where I think out loud about my PhD: ideas at the point of setting out, still finding their way, or arriving, for now, at something more settled. Nothing here is final. Return at a later date with a fresh coffee and you might find fresh thinking.
You can browse by concept or simply read through the posts below at random.
-
Listening groundwork
Most research treats storytelling as a way to share findings at the end. I’m looking at it as the groundwork: how listening to each other’s stories, properly and with attention, can build the trust that collaboration between universities and communities…
-
Understanding across boundaries
People are mentioning The Inner Light as an exceptional Star Trek episode, however I always felt another episode gave me a lot to think about – “Darmok” – two people who can only understand each other once they learn to…
-
Are all relationships transactional
From my morning journaling – Q: Aren’t all relationships transactional in some way? Thinking about the word ‘equitable’ and where does if become beneficial for both/all parties? Not in the moment, necessarily, but across time should there be some equitableness?…
-
Nurturing trust through the process
Equitable collaboration is less about who sits at the table than when they are invited to it. Trust is nurtured by opening the process while it is still unfinished, so that partners shape the work rather than receive it. Process…
-
The Words We Use
I have a tagline for the creative writing side of my life – “words can be doves or bullets, choose wisely”. I try to be careful with the words I use. Yet sometimes (and I know from experience) a word…
-
Equitable Engagement
While researchers do think, and try their best, to be equitable in their engagement with communities there is often (and I know this from experience) the feeling among communities, partners etc that researchers are more extractive than they realise. This…
-
Telling and Listening
Two different skills, both valuable. As researchers we love to share what we are doing but sometimes I feel it’s just as important to take a breath and listen to those we want to work with.