The practice of participatory action research: Complicity, power and prestige in dialogue with the ‘racialised mad’

• DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.13517
• Publication Date: 2022-08-24T15:38:25Z
• Authors: Maria Haarmans; James Nazroo; Dharmi Kapadia; Charlotte Maxwell; Sonja Osahan; Jennifer Edant; Jason Grant‐Rowles; Zahra Motala; James Rhodes
• Keywords: Complicity; Prestige

Abstract Mental health service users in the UK have become increasingly involved research over last 2 decades partly as a consequence of governance. Ethnic minority users, however, point to power imbalances stemming from marginalisation and discrimination creating barriers knowledge co‐production (Kalathil, J. (2013). Hard reach? Racialised groups mental user involvement.). Heavily influenced by Freire’s liberatory education, participatory action (PAR) repoliticises participation where those most affected injustice are central both producing about implementing solutions. people with lived experience ‘severe illness’ (‘the racialised mad’) were appointed coresearchers work academic researchers on qualitative study exploring ethnic inequalities illness’. Drawing Foucault’s notion relational, we focus three key aspects productive power: (1) relational engagement reciprocity, (2) positioning authentic (3) adopting an ethic care, explore complicity resistance reproducing hierarchies when attempting create sustain PAR process for collective analysis, solidarity. We utilise retrospective recorded reflections course project. Finally, discuss ethical methodological implications contemporary sociological into illness.