In the Margins We Write Back: An Epistolary Praxis for Critical Race Feminista Quantitative Ethnography
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article introduces Critical Race Feminista Quantitative Ethnography (CRFQE), a methodological framework that brings together Critical Race Feminisms, epistolary praxis, Quantitative Ethnography (QE), and Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) in an intentional conversation. Engaging an epistolary praxis with Ida B. Wells-Barnett, the article traces how Women of Color feminist epistemologies challenge the presumed neutrality of quantitative methods and offer alternative forms of knowledge production through computational modeling. Using pláticas~testimonios from Dominican undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study demonstrates how ENA can visualize the epistemic structures of lived experience. Collective and individual ENA models reveal how socio-economic and academic unpreparedness, emotional trauma, familial love, community resilience and advocacy, and familial degree aspirations co-occur as interconnected conditions rather than discrete events. In writing back to Wells-Barnett, I argue that writing from the margins is imperative for Critical Race Feminista quantitative work.
Source: Qualitative Inquiry
Author: Nichole Margarita Garcia
Institution: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
OpenAlex ID: W7225658759