Painting a Counter-Narrative of African Womanhood: Reflections on How My Research Transformed Me

Abstract

Whereas writing a dissertation can be a fear-inducing experience for a doctoral student, there exists the possibility of not only learning but also self-transformation that can take place through the process. In this article, I reflect on how my choice of a research approach provided me with a transformative research experience. I will describe portraiture as a critical feminist research method that was culturally relevant in undertaking my study of African women leaders. Through this process of conducting research utilizing portraiture as method, I became a supplicant learner.

Keywords

• portraiture
• supplicant learner
• counter-narrative
• critical feminist research
• tempered radical