Paper short abstract:

This proposal is based on a research experience I had while working as an activist for the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory in Mexico. I will address questions faced while living in both worlds, academia and activism, such as the transposition of languages and the production of knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

Between 2016 and 2017, I conducted my PhD research on indigenous resistance movements in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. During this period, I also worked as a volunteer in a team that promoted the events of the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory - MODEVITE, a network formed by indigenous tsotsiles, tseltales and ch'oles who live in 11 municipalities in the state. This movement aims to denounce situations of violence and expropriation promoted by the government and companies in the implementation of national and transnational "mega projects" (ecotourism, road construction, dams, mining, etc.). My work as an anthropologist and as a communications activist led me to reflect about the limits of language transposition. The ethnographic writing I learned at the academy requires a management of concepts and theories aiming to describe and understand "other" worlds. Access to this type of writing, however, is limited to anthropologists themselves. On the other hand, my work as an activist required communicating with a broader audience, which was achieved by using different language and temporalities than those used in academia. In both cases, the content I produced revolved around the experiences of the indigenous Chiapanecos. In the specific case of Modevite, their experiences in response to capitalism were systematized by them in their complaints and demands, and designed as forms of knowledge in their speeches. The present proposal questions the ways of producing knowledge in both worlds and reflects the possibilities of approximating those languages.