National Network for Equitable Library Service

Corridor Talk contains contributions from feminist scholars from across Canada from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. When the anthropologist Paul Rainbow coined the term, ‘corridor talk,’ he used it to refer to information that was relegated to side chats with colleagues, information that was not to be included in field notes, manuscripts or journal articles. These were the unimportant details or ‘gossip’ concerning a person’s research, although he noted that a person’s reputation often hinged on such discussions. Most feminist scholars, like many working within the realm of qualitative methodology, have for many years, rejected this discourse of ‘unimportant details’ and have chosen instead to document experiences and struggles during the research process as a way of exploring such issues as: whose interests are served by the research, what is the purpose(s) of the research, what are the goals of the research? In this book, graduate students, sessionals, independent scholars, community members, as well as established scholars, have an opportunity to share their experiences with the reader about doing feminist research, including the pitfalls, the benefit of hindsight, the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘ah ha’ moments. By sharing stories about the emotional struggles and methodological dilemmas that occur in the process of doing feminist research, the authors provide researchers, both seasoned and new, an invaluable inside look at conducting feminist research.