Response to "accepting the roles created for us: The ethics of reciprocity"

Katrina Powell and Pamela Takayoshi's article, "Accepting Roles Created for Us: The Ethics of Reciprocity" (CCC 54 [3]) was an important check to the discussions of methodology in rhetoric and composition, especially as these concern issues of reciprocity. Linking this rather abstract concept with the notion of kairos was smart on many levels, though it also raised questions for me that I hope they might address. Let me say upfront, that this was a useful and interesting essay, one that I read closely and have thought a good deal about. My questions are tough but only because they stem from a position of keen engagement. Their piece described well the complexities of negotiating the terms of give-and-take with research participants. Often the kinds of capital that professors and university representatives possess can be seen by participants as important in ways that researchers may not know until a teachable moment arises in the research setting when a participant spots a need that the researcher might address. In Powell's case, the need was for someone to listen to the story of a roommate's suicide, though listening to this put Powell in an uncomfort-