When the Hegemony Studies the Minority—An Israeli Jewish Researcher Studies Druze Women

Abstract

This study describes the positionality and power relations revealed during research on women in Israel's Druze minority, conducted by a Jewish woman in the country's hegemonic society. Although the researcher's position and power appear obvious, changes took place constantly, reflecting her unstable position as a stranger, “outsider” or “insider,” as well as shifts in power relations. The researcher's positionality is believed to be affected primarily by formal aspects, such as culture, ethnicity, social hierarchies, and the like, that intrude and affect encounters. The study demonstrates that such considerations do not always exert a dominant effect on research, nor is their influence invariably predictable. They involve many complex and intricate factors that impact the encounter, overriding the well-known and much-debated issue of whether the researcher is an insider or an outsider. By focusing on the intricate relations formed with participants from a different culture, the study shatters widely accepted notions regarding researchers' positionalities.