Presentation
With the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections and the EU referendum, we are seeing the rise of right-wing political movements in both the U.S. and Europe and a corresponding rise in hate crimes against immigrants and Muslims, xenophobia, nativism, and policies and practices that are harmful to immigrant communities and other racialized minorities. For many scholars who work in and with these communities, there is a sense of urgency about using our research to resist these harmful movements and defend the dignity and well-being of the communities we work with. Professional research associations such as the Social Science Research Council and the Council on Anthropology and Education have issued statements and resolutions with renewed calls for engaged research, collaborative efforts, and solidarity with targeted communities.
Simultaneously, researchers and activists working on gender and other inequalities, such as the grass-roots movement around functional diversity and accessibility, share a commitment to produce socially engaged research in a context where dominant policies respond only timidly to persistent inequalities and acts of violence. These areas (perhaps particularly in Spain) have served as platforms for new forms of social activism, protest and social engagement in which relationships between professional/expert voices, communities and individuals are deeply transformed.
This workshop seeks to engage participants in a dialogue about how we are responding to the present moment in each of our distinct contexts and across a variety of social issues in which research, solidarity and resistance intersect. Participants are invited to share their work, ideas, and reflections about the ways in which our research might contribute to ongoing resistance efforts with and on behalf of communities struggling for equality and social justice. Possibilities for resistance might be found in the research process (methodology), findings/results, or the uses to which results are put; and reflections on any or all of these aspects are welcome. In addition, participants might share their efforts in relation to new ways of using past research findings, or ideas and plans for new action research projects. The workshop will be structured for maximum interaction and exchange of ideas, so that all participants will give and receive feedback as well as share their work.
Full program: (pdf)