Session on Participatory Action Research at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association
Sat, Nov 12
|Seattle
This panel brings together community researchers, scholars, and activists to explore not just how research may shift existing power structures through participatory methods, but also how we can unsettle the notion of research itself.
Time & Location
Nov 12, 2022, 8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Seattle, Seattle, WA, USA
About the Event
From Researcher to Co-Conspirator: Tending to the Relational Ethics of PAR
11/12/22
8:00 AM - 9:45 AM ET
Location (Subject to change): Ballroom 6B
Sharing stories of harm can be a healing experience just as much as it can feel vulnerable and exploitative. Traditional research tends to collect data from marginalized communities about their lives in extractive ways, and it often uses the gathered knowledge to justify an oppressive status quo. Participatory Action Research, or PAR, seeks to undo the harms of traditional research through its collaborative nature and its attention to power, privilege, and vulnerabilities. By doing research not on people but in reciprocity with people, PAR shifts power to marginalized communities, unsettles established narratives (e.g., what justice is, what safety means etc.), and dissolves binaries like researcher/researched or insider/outsider.
Yet, we identify a number of tensions that emerge around the relational ethics of PAR: As we become proximate…