Seeing Collaboration between researchers and "research subjects"

Before reading this paper by Richa Nagar, I never really thought anything about calling the individuals I work with "research subjects". Well, perhaps there is a little naggin' idea at the back of my mine that this 'cover term' makes me more interested in uncovering phenomena than be more interested in the lives of people.

Basically, as I read about the lives of 'Farah Ali' and the group of rural Indian women Nagar was researching with and going beyond herself to participate in their realities and uncovering the help needed, in what she called crossing multiple and difficult borders, I found myself crying at the end of the paper, thinking of how much help people really need and the times I felt helpless seeing the situations "research subjects" are in, like nurses in Singapore, the students misrepresented by the media and the state, the 'underclass', the depressed and the elderly in Singapore.

My tears were of frustration, of pain and probably at the inherent social injustice I see certain individuals trapped in because of structural issues at the state and societal level. It was only a few drops, but well, I was quite touched.

I then realized that the everyday experiences of these people not only signals pain and frustration they feel but pain and frustration they feel because of their position within structures.

If I am to pursue my academic inclinations on a higher scale ( I guess I am), I must remember I am researching into lives and every people who feel things, and are not just embodied subjects.

Reference:

Nagar, R. and Ali, F. (2003) Collaboration across borders: Moving beyond positionality. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography. 24(3). Pages 356-372.