Angela Okune

This is my umpteenth “hello world” post… Here’s hoping that this blog successfully gets past the one opening post!! (*fingers crossed!!*)

I’m starting this post to hold myself accountable to myself, my community advisory board in Nairobi, those with whom I plan to conduct my research project, my academic advisory board in Irvine, my family and curious onlookers to this whole research process.

At the heart of my PhD project is a question of methodology, openness, and whether more open approaches to knowledge production can lead to those who are studied feeling less exploited! This blog is an attempt to practice what I preach and learn in the process. Through this blog, I know I will experience first hand the tension between theoretically wanting to do things the ideal way (i.e. being as open /equitable as possible, sharing everything you can, etc.) and the real everyday burdens of limited time/money/resources and operating within existing pressures/incentive structures of the academy.

If you’ve found your way here looking for answers to some of the contradictions in knowledge production and research, I don’t have them. I am just meandering through this grey world along with you while trying to reflect on the whole research enterprise as I go. I hope to figure out better ways to do science and research, but I will trip along the journey and I promise to share those trip-ups with you so we can discuss together. Onwards!