Immersive, Participatory, Community-Based Research and Learning

This three-article dissertation embraces the methods and practices of pioneering sociologist Jane Addams’s culturally immersive, participatory, community-based research. Using a multimodal design, the three studies document the scholarly progression from discovery, through practice and development of pedagogical methods, to immersive field research. The research design is inclusive of Texas Woman’s University’s emphasis on experiential learning which is significant because experiences can be transformative. As researchers, the knowledge we gain needs to be equitable in “voice” and “accessibility.” Thus, the research and photography in this dissertation are extensions of the researcher’s awareness and application of examining society and disseminating those reports via multimodal forms. Each study builds upon the foundation of the preceding study and progressively utilizes different formats for presentation. The data for the first study was collected from archival historical sites, extant literature, news sources, biographies, and Jane Addams’s numerous publications. Using theoretically guided textual analysis and archival research methods, the researcher connected the origin of immersive, participatory, community-based research to the methods and practices of Jane Addams. Data for the second study was collected from interdisciplinary extant literature and the researcher’s teaching experience while developing a working model for exploring cultural identity. This article discusses method, theory, design, and the practical application in intercultural classrooms as developed over three years. The third study accesses archival historical data, extant literature, news sources, and field notes to substantiate the images of “chai” as a social object and pathway to communicating. The researcher collected additional data on chai as an “object” with her camera. The researcher documented the immersive cultural fieldwork in the format of autoethnography by using theoretically guided interpretive analysis, visual analysis, and textual analysis of chai as a sociologically embedded social object within the social structure of India. The three-article format and multimodal research design builds upon non-traditional, and equitable, forms of investigation, communication, and dissemination of important sociological messages. Collectively, this three-article dissertation contributes to the literature on immersive, participatory, community-based research; culture; visual sociology; pedagogy on teaching and learning; and sociology.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

Texas Woman's University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Powers, Petina J.D.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Yang, Philip Q

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Williams, James
• Phillips Munson, Annie

• International research
• Inclusive
• Experiential
• Transformative
• Cultural

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/11274/17322

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:twu-ir.tdl.org:11274/17322