"In Defense of “Me” Studies"

"recent commentaries have criticized scholars who engage in “me studies” -- the investigation of issues that are closely related to the researcher’s own identity or otherwise play a prominent role in their own life. Highlighting what he views as the shortcomings of studying the “oppression” of one’s own group, Joseph Heath, a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, for example, has suggested that such research can essentially invalidate a scholar, calling into question the training, professionalism and the quality of their work.

Yet even the classic works philosophers often revere were produced by scholars oppressed by the social and political systems they analyzed. From thinkers during the Enlightenment to scholars of black political thought, some of the most powerful intellectual contributions to society have been generated by so-called me scholars...

It is also important to consider the implications that follow from the common claim that political correctness precludes certain questions when evaluating and critiquing a me study. Just because a me scholar studies oppression related to race, gender or LGBT politics, for example, does not mean that they are prohibitively sensitive to constructive criticism. Nor does it mean that the questions they research necessarily reflect their personal views or interests...

Failure to appreciate the value of me studies provides a powerful example of intellectual hegemony in the academy. Although the academy has been enriched by the work of me scholars in areas like ethnic studies, women’s and gender studies, and queer studies, research shows that topics of study concerning oppressed groups are both marginalized and dismissed. In the area of LGBT scholarship, for example, a 2010 study revealed that more than 20 percent of international relations scholars felt that LGBT topics were not acceptable for study within their subfield, despite the rapid global changes surrounding LGBT rights during the last decade. That signals to me scholars that their research has to be above the benchmark to be taken seriously in the field."

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/04/14/scholarly-importance-studying-issues-related-ones-own-identity-essay?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=379e943367-DNU20160414&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-379e943367-197324337#.VxZg_f3hMhJ.twitter