Feminist Research Institute

Community–university partnerships are often regarded as promising strategies for addressing environmental injustices. Yet, community partners often bear substantial emotional labor as they confront bias and knowledge hierarchies, navigate unfamiliar academic norms, and manage administrative hurdles. This paper highlights the significance of emotions and marginalized standpoints that emerge from histories of abuse and discrimination. We use the concept of emotion work to illuminate this type of labor and analyze the complex asymmetrical power dynamics inherent in these types of partnerships. The paper provides recommendations on how university partners to develop a deeper appreciation of the unequal emotion work required to foster these relationships.