Between obundu and praxis : intersubjective positionality in shaping cross-cultural research and researcher identity
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Researcher subjectivity influences knowledge generation, which necessitates reflexivity. This paper inquires into how a researcher’s worldview(s) shape their positionality concerning research topics, contexts, and participants. I examine my sociocultural encounters as a Global South (Ugandan) doctoral researcher in the Global North (Sweden) and demonstrate how my epistemic disposition becomes intersubjective and shapes my research and researcher identity development. Two epistemologies coalesce: obundu, a worldview from my upbringing in Uganda; and praxis, a concept from European experience that influences my research environment. A key conclusion is that researching across contexts entails transcending epistemic boundaries in an intersectional rather than polarising way, resulting in an inbetweener rather than an outsider or insider researcher positionality. Because my experience is hardly peculiar, this conclusion is potentially relevant for other Global South researchers in the Global North and, hopefully, vice versa.
Author: Amoni Kitooke
Institutions: Lund University, University of Borås
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Högskolan i Borås
OpenAlex ID: W4414429392