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Operationalizing intersectionality to investigate the role of recognition in the landscape of becoming

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Abstract

This paper dialogues with Lucy Avraamidou’s theoretical contribution Science Identity as a Landscape of Becoming: Rethinking Recognition and Emotionality through an Intersectionality Lens. Avraamidou discusses the centrality of recognition for science identities, and presents an argument for taking up intersectionality as an analytical lens for recognition. In this response, I review the contributions that Avraamidou’s article makes in advancing science identities research, and I then discuss ways of operationalizing intersectionality theory analytically. To illustrate ways that intersectionality can be mobilized to understand how recognition functions in science learning settings, I present examples from science identity researchers who have drawn on various theoretical frameworks to make this possible. I conclude with a discussion of the importance of considering space and time in recognition research, and how this can lead to more meaningful and intersectional research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, 3700 rue McTavish, Suite 357, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2, Canada

    Allison J. Gonsalves

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  1. Allison J. Gonsalves
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Correspondence to Allison J. Gonsalves.

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This review essay addresses issues raised in Lucy Avraamidou’s paper entitled: Science identity as a landscape of becoming: rethinking recognition and emotions through an intersectionality lens (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-019-09954-7).

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Gonsalves, A.J. Operationalizing intersectionality to investigate the role of recognition in the landscape of becoming. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 15, 347–357 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-019-09964-5

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