ABSTRACT
Mentoring in qualitative research is often viewed as a relational experience between humans that centers on emotions and transfer of knowledge through research projects and professional development. What is often only an afterthought if taken into consideration at all, is the materiality that surrounds these relationships. In this chapter, we draw from the philosophies of new materialism and assemblage theory to discuss the ways that the material world shapes mentoring possibilities. These philosophies have allowed us to shape our mentoring relationship in order to produce a multifaceted engagement that moves beyond an interpersonal relationship. This chapter focuses on the materiality that influences our becoming-mentoring practice. Our interactions with the materiality of the research site, classroom, and shared meals, demonstrate that mentoring need not be restricted to human-human interpersonal relationships, but rather emerges from intra-actions with the materiality of our world. “I don’t want feelings. I want tacos,” will discuss how assemblage theory and new materialist philosophies allow our becoming-mentoring practice to produce new ethics of mentoring that can move beyond feelings to establish an ethic of care that opens up the possibility of mentoring/learning to the agency of the material and discursive within a mentoring relationship.
