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- Convenor:
-
Jonathan Ngeh
(University of Cologne)
Send message to Convenor
- Discussant:
-
Simone Pfeifer
(University of Cologne)
- Format:
- Roundtable
- Transfers:
- Open for transfers
Short Abstract:
The proposed roundtable aims to initiate dialogue and foster conversation on perspectives and practices that promote inclusion and symmetry among all actors involved in research processes.
Long Abstract:
The proposed roundtable, "co-producing knowledge," aims to initiate dialogue and foster conversation on perspectives and practices that promote inclusion and symmetry among all actors involved in research processes. These research actors include, but are not limited to, researchers, co-researchers, collaborators, and other participants (including non-human actors) involved in knowledge production. The roundtable's point of departure is that knowledge production is entangled in power dynamics, making research a significant site of struggle between competing interests and different ways of knowing, often grounded in specific experiences. As such, co-producing knowledge challenges traditional top-down research models and the dominance of any particular form of knowing. Moreover, the co-production of knowledge aligns with the commoning imperative of mutual care to address planetary crises, a key theme of the 2025 DGSKA conference. For example, creating parity in research collaboration can generate inclusive and comprehensive insights for tackling interconnected global issues such as climate change, the threat of nuclear war, and public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The roundtable will address key questions, including how to integrate and enhance inclusive methodological and conceptual frameworks in research from design to publication, address practical and epistemological concerns in research, and explore ways to strengthen an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to joint knowledge production.
Accepted contributions:
Session 1Contribution short abstract:
This presentation examines of power dynamics while conducting the revitalization project of "Cancionero Villenense" in Spain and the later compositional process and performing of “The Unknown Spanish Levant series” in Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Egypt from 2021 to 2024.
Contribution long abstract:
“The Unknown Spanish Levant series” covers the compilation of nine albums recorded in Spain, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Egypt from 2021 to 2024. The album series entails the author´s compositions inspired by the revitalization of the “cancionero popular Villenense” -conducted by the author through the participation of more than 300 local people- and its historical coexistence with certain musical cultures across the world. This presentation focuses on the examination of power dynamics while conducting the revitalization project local and the later compositional process and performing of “The Unknown Spanish Levant series” in the countries abovementioned. In so doing, the notion of multimusicality -a concept previously used by the author to reconsider intercultural musical practices across regions over four continents since 2011- offers a valuable platform to examine “Shared Musical Knowledges and Creativity” locally and beyond the Iberian Peninsula.
Contribution short abstract:
The proposed contribution focuses on relational ethics in research conducted in England and Brazil, focusing on the experiences of young refugees and Warao Indigenous people. The studies aimed to create an equitable and ethical research process, involving participants' perspectives.
Contribution long abstract:
This paper presents reflections on research ethics beyond the boundaries of procedural requirements. It focuses on a doctoral study investigating how young refugees encountered England’s education system and discusses the relational ethics approach adopted throughout the research. A critical ethnography was conducted using arts-based participatory elements and semi-structured interviews and school-based observations at a secondary school in the south of England. The study’s goals were to amplify participants’ experiences by listening to the young people and their families, building trust with them, setting realistic expectations related to the research and engaging them in discussions about research dissemination plans. The proposed discussion will also draw reflections from a postdoctoral study conducted with the Warao Indigenous people, who have increasingly been displaced in Venezuela and migrated to Brazil. The adopted methodological choices showed that relational ethics is essential to creating an equitable and ethical research process by centring participants’ perspectives rather than the researcher’s. Nevertheless, ethical issues and asymmetric power relations can still cause discomfort within relational research. I aim to reflect on the ethical challenges arising in the relationship between researcher and participants and the challenges encountered to ‘exit the field’.
Contribution short abstract:
Collaborative efforts of inclusion too often continue to uphold power dynamics that perpetuate systemic exclusion and epistemic injustice. This contribution draws on bottom-up, collective cultural practices to advance ideas for equitable commoning of research processes.
Contribution long abstract:
From the cultural sector and academia in Belgium and beyond, diversity initiatives often focus on the inclusion of “the other” without addressing power dynamics, like whiteness, present in collaborative processes. Inclusion, under these conditions, frequently becomes an act of assimilation on white terms rather than a commitment to an equitable commoning of the research process with historically and structurally marginalized groups.
In this contribution, I’d like to critically examine the concepts of “symmetry” and “inclusion,” exploring how they can inadvertently uphold whiteness rather than dismantle the frameworks that perpetuate systemic exclusion and epistemic injustice. Drawing on the works of Grada Kilomba, Tania Cañas, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and others, I learn from experiences of bottom-up and collective meaning-making in cultural spaces, often overlooked by traditional academic approaches and interrogate persistent power dynamics within attempts to make research processes more inclusive. Central to this analysis are questions such as: “How do we equitably common a research process within structures that uphold hierarchy and power dynamics?” and “What safeguards are in place to protect collaborators, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, from harm in these spaces?”
This intervention seeks to advance transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral frameworks for joint knowledge production that are rooted in decolonial and equitable principles. Researchers and collaborators are invited to critically question how collaborative and curatorial practices in cultural projects help rethink traditional research processes, recognize and dismantle invisible power lines and create safer spaces for commoning research processes.
Contribution short abstract:
With the aim of reducing the ethnographic asymmetry, I shape my PhD inquiry on music and migration in a participatory way, taking the musicians’ emotions, perceptions and preoccupations into account. My future research should be co-constructed by all participants to meet their interests.
Contribution long abstract:
My doctoral thesis takes place in the field of anthropology of music and migration and focuses on the orchestra Orpheus XXI which is aimed at musicians who experienced exile. Since 2019, I have carried out an ethnographic fieldwork in France and Germany and met the musicians where they rehearse and live. I use the method of go-along (Kusenbach, 2003) and do biographical interviews (Fischer-Rosenthal & Rosenthal, 1997). I take into account the musicians’ perceptions and emotions (Juslin & Sloboda, 2010) to understand what is at stake in their careers and lives. Spradley explained how ethnographic relations of inquiry are asymmetric, and all the more so interviews (1979). With the aim of reducing the weight of this power relation, I try to shape my inquiry in a participatory way by building a relationship of trust and eye-to-eye dialogue with the musicians, going several times back to them during the ethnography and the process of writing to discuss what I wrote. Conversation (Haraway, 1988) becomes a heuristic tool. Active listening (Hockey & Forsey, 2012) is also an opportunity to build a relationship of trust, while at the same time fulfilling an ethical duty.
In the future, I would like to go further and implement a more participatory research design, by involving the actors in the definition of the research so that it meets their interests. All the participants would co-construct the inquiry. Participating is understood here in the three ways that philosopher Zask describes: taking part, contributing and benefiting (2011).
Contribution short abstract:
This presentation reflects collaborative heritage research with Tacana, Tsimane', Mosetén, and Waiwai Indigenous People. It examines the active participation of Indigenous researchers, the role of political entities, and challenges such as communication, decision-making, and gender equity.
Contribution long abstract:
The transdisciplinary project Heritage and Territoriality: Past, Present, and Future Perceptions among the Tacana, Tsimane', Mosetén, and Waiwai, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, examines how these Indigenous Peoples perceive and interact with the heritage of their territories. By integrating archaeological, anthropological, and ecological approaches with Indigenous ontologies and decolonial theories, the research seeks to redefine heritage concepts and promote sustainable, inclusive protection strategies.
This presentation will share empirical insights from three years of research, reflecting on the challenges of collaborative methodologies. It will focus on the active participation of Indigenous researchers and the role of political entities representing these groups, such as CIPTA and CRTM. Key issues will include ensuring transparent communication, respecting the decision-making autonomy of Indigenous representatives, and fostering mutual accountability. The discussion further explores the flexibility required to adapt to differing agendas, address gender inequalities in decision-making, and navigate the complexities of balancing cultural norms with equitable participation. By critically engaging with these challenges, the project aims to contribute to ethical, inclusive, and transformative approaches to heritage research, prioritizing Indigenous perspectives and reinforcing the collaborative foundations of territorial heritage management.
Contribution short abstract:
This paper examines the collaborative structure of my ethnographic research on memory practices in the Rif, Morocco. It explores the benefits and challenges of how knowledge is co-produced between researchers, activists, and local communities, through the establishment of a MediaSpace in Al-Hoceima.
Contribution long abstract:
This paper critically examines the collaborative anatomy of my ethnographic research in the northern Rif of Morocco. I analyze how knowledge is co-produced between researchers, activists, and trans-local communities, shaping academic methodologies and interpretations through the establishment of a MediaSpace in Al-Hoceima.
As part of an interdisciplinary team project, my research explores how Riffian communities in Morocco and the European diaspora engage with the legacy of (post)colonial violence through ecological care, art, activism, and (digital) media. In this context, a MediaSpace was created in collaboration with local partners to serve as a hub for knowledge exchange and participatory projects on memory and heritage, such as the collective curation of a local museum, the documentation of family histories, and the support of local artist networks.
While the MediaSpace fosters community engagement, it also raises ethical concerns. In the context of collaborative research in a post-colonial setting, those involved in Al-Hoceima’s MediaSpace must navigate different agendas of academic and non-academic stakeholders amid local political surveillance. This brings into focus key questions: Who ultimately benefits from collaborative knowledge production and where are the boundaries between cooperation and extraction? Beyond offering opportunities for innovative methodologies, collaborative research thus also calls for critical reflection on the implications of open and shared research fields.
In addition, the academic evaluation of collaborative projects remains a challenge. While participatory initiatives such as a MediaSpace, an exhibition, or a documentary series requested by and produced with the local community contribute to decolonial knowledge practices, peer-reviewed publications still dominate academic evaluation systems. This tension between ethically responsible research and academic career advancement calls for a fundamental rethinking of how collaborative knowledge production is valued within academia.