The Inbetweeny Collective: Reflexive Dialogues on the Liminality of Researchers' Lived Experiences

In this collaborative autoethnography, we critically explore our lived experiences within a wider context of HCI research and practice. We reflect on the epistemological ways of knowing through ‘insider’ lived experience of, and ‘outsider’ knowledge of our research topic(s) via the concept of “liminal space” as a process ontology. To embrace liminality entails inhabiting the space ‘in-between’ these ways of knowing, suspended on a threshold of uncertainty and transformative growth. All authors identify as ‘inbetweenies’, because we are neither just ‘insiders’ nor ‘outsiders’, and we collect our respective stories to share. Drawing from these stories and our dialogues, we discuss how ways of knowing have historically been dichotomously categorized with their associated subjective or objective characterizations, resulting in power hierarchies and tensions. We propose that for an ‘inbetweeny’ researcher, thoughtful approaches to navigating this liminal space could potentially bridge persistent tensions in HCI research and practices toward personal and systemic transformation. Five areas of reflection are discussed, with proposed learnings that can be applied towards sustained practices for individuals and collectives at any stage of their journey and development.