Abstract
Talking Texts is a thinking/feeling space for research on the Gulf. A select group of academics and researchers reflect on their positionality, research process, and the politics of knowledge production. In this interview, Rana Al Mutawa, an Emirati researcher currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Oxford, discusses her published work on topics such as "Constructions of Authenticity in National Dress in the UAE" and "State Feminism and Legitimizing Myths". She also shared some of her current dissertation work on the concept of authenticity of urban spaces in Dubai and various self- reflexive insights on what it means to conduct ethnographic work in her home country. Through engaging with her and her work we were able to unpack the nuances involved in constructed and gendered cultural symbols and better understand the role of the researcher’s positionality in shaping access to power in an urban ethnography.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| State | Published - 2020 |