Summary
Most efforts at advancing research to be more inclusive focus on methods or methodologies or participation. Though helpful, those efforts have unfortunately not been sufficient for inclusion and we continue to be constrained by stronger forces which go to the root of what research means and the definition of inclusion. To be fully unconstrained and reach true inclusion we must learn to let go. Do we have the ability to do that? Let's talk about that. Join us for a half-hour of becoming undone, joyfully.
Key Insights
-
•
Diversity in research teams does not inherently guarantee inclusivity or counter systemic oppression.
-
•
Awareness of power and identity positionality often leads to feeling stuck without clear action steps.
-
•
Our ways of being deeply shape our epistemologies and methodologies in research.
-
•
Colonial Western ways of being emphasize objectification and individualism, limiting emancipatory knowledge production.
-
•
Indigenous knowledge systems, like those of the iBio people, view knowledge as relational and emergent from relationships.
-
•
Songs and oral traditions can serve as valid research methodologies tied to indigenous ways of knowing.
-
•
Systems of value influence which knowledge is considered legitimate or beneficial, often marginalizing community knowledge.
-
•
Immigrant communities bring preserved ways of being that produce measurable health and social benefits.
-
•
Positive deviance in communities reveals untapped local wisdom that can guide effective interventions.
-
•
Radical participatory research requires researchers to relinquish control and let communities define methods based on their own ways of being.
Notable Quotes
"If diversity alone made research inclusive, then police could never be anti-black because they include black officers."
"Whiteness isn’t about color; people of all colors can reinforce white supremacy."
"Awareness leads to feeling stuck because we don’t know what to do or don’t feel empowered to act."
"Our ways of being are roots that grow into ways of knowing, doing, and methods, all nourished by systems of value."
"In Western modernity, if something is not an object, it is not real research or real knowledge."
"For the iBio people, knowledge is relational, not objectified, emerging from relationships like songs."
"Songs become methodologies—the way you identify who is at the door is through the song they sing."
"Colonial ways of being, knowing, and valuing will never produce emancipatory methodologies."
"Community-rooted wisdom like the Mexican 'guana' practice reduces postpartum depression without traditional research."
"Will you learn to let go? Better yet, will you let go?"
Or choose a question:
















More Videos

"We were spending time defending the meaning of words rather than discussing the content of the work."
Saara Kamppari-Miller"Prototype" vs "Prototype"--Breaking Down and Rebuilding Our Understanding of What We Do
October 24, 2019

"OKRs are not one-size-fits-all; you have to shape them based on your organizational context and culture."
Bria Alexander Benson Low Natalya Pemberton Stephanie GoldthorpeOKRs—Helpful or Harmful?
January 20, 2022

"Growth boards are a more advanced tool that require breaking down walls between disciplines and focusing on outcome-driven metrics."
Kit Unger Jackie Ho Veevi Rosenstein Vasileios XanthopoulosTheme 2: Discussion
January 8, 2024

"If our public institutions cannot keep the promises they make to the most vulnerable, we might not deserve to solve some of the more existential crises."
Sha HwangThe Lost Year
June 11, 2021

"If you don’t trust it, then there’s nothing here."
Daniel J. RosenbergDesigning with and for Artificial Intelligence
August 11, 2022

"Temporary disability is real and products should support people when they experience it."
Samuel ProulxDesigning beyond caricatures: Embracing real, diverse user needs
December 4, 2024

"We have a choice in crisis — see it as a loss or see it as an opportunity."
Lada GorlenkoTheme 2 Intro
June 9, 2022

"The official conference time zone is Pacific Standard Time, but you can change it to your own time zone at designatskill.com."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
June 9, 2021

"Design thinking is for everybody. It’s collaborative, inclusive, and cross-disciplinary."
Doug PowellClosing Keynote: Design at Scale
November 8, 2018