"Sleight of Hand" or "Selling Our Soul"? Surviving and Thriving as Critical Qualitative Health Researchers in a Positivist World

Abstract

The commodification and corporatization of research within the academy, research institutes, and professional and political sectors has ignited much attention within the critical qualitative health field. Of particular concern is that the ascendance of neoliberal rationality is increasingly making critical qualitative research transgressive and difficult to practice. We reflect on this concern by deconstructing our experiences collaborating with large teams of interdisciplinary researchers. We offer interpretation of key events, interactions, processes, and existential and material consequences, and discuss lessons learned and productive strategies for working at the margins of the health sciences. We argue for the need to engage in a comprehensive resistance agenda in order for critical qualitative health researchers to not only survive but also thrive in the health field.