Unpacking Sites and Cultures of Methodological Animosity: Teaching Qualitative Research in Spaces that are Hostile to Qualitative Researchers

Abstract

In this article, the author posits that in order to ensure the vitality and sustainability of qualitative work, we must also consider the ecosystems where qualitative research is taught. In particular, this text illumines the challenges for those teaching qualitative inquiry in academic environments hostile to qualitative scholars and scholarship. In doing so, the author presents several ways one can identify academic spaces that are antagonistic to qualitative research and researchers. Afterward, the text outlines strategies scholars might consider in traversing such sites and cultures. Throughout, the author weaves in their insights and observations as a qualitative methodologist and educator. The text concludes with a grounding of the violence inflicted on qualitative instructors and researchers as well the impact this has on the research enterprise.