Contribution short abstract:

Sowa Rigpa’s center-periphery dynamics are more evident in the untold lives of its practitioners than in the analytical study of this Tibeto-Himalayan medical system. Its marginalized practitioners participate in the anthropologist’s quest for knowledge. What is and ought to be at stake for both?

Contribution long abstract:

This reflexive essay on the evolving roles of an anthropologist therefore delves into the creation of spaces between activism, personal accountability, and friendship with marginalized communities. Sowa Rigpa medical practitioners (amchi)in the remote regions of Kinnaur and Spiti (Western Himalayas, India) face many challenges, including livelihood, knowledge transmission, and medical legitimacy. A state-led paradigm shift towards modern scientific principles complicates these issues further, along with a focus on institutionally driven research and education. Amchi, their patients, and relatives are increasingly summoned by scientists and anthropologists to participate in documentation and modernization efforts. Still, they also express a meta-narrative that speaks of their frustrations and exhaustion in being approached as subjects of study, not catalysts for policy change or welfare.

Taking a theoretical cue from Gayatri Spivak and her work “Can the Subaltern Speak?” my paper reflects on if the Sub-Altern can indeed speak, who do they want as listeners? What does listening entail, and how can the anthropologist be a conduit for catharsis? What do they want to be done with the things they say? Emphasizing a self-reflective stance, I shift the focus to the questions posed by the people I work with, rather than on predefined research inquiries. I also draw on emotional conversations and Buddhist teachings that led me to dissect my own institutional privilege with the marginalization of ‘non-institutionally trained’ amchi.

Contribution short abstract:

This talk will be a personal account of how conducting fieldwork at the interface of knowledge systems —scientific biosecurity and Māori indigenous knowledge— challenged my understanding of my role as a researcher and transformed me into an improved, grounded version of myself.

Contribution long abstract:

As a part of my doctorate, over the last five years, I studied unusual collaborations between Māori traditional experts and forest pathologists. Their partnerships aimed to better understand and, hopefully, halt microorganism-induced diseases threatening native trees and forest ecosystems in Te Ika-a-Māui (the North Island of New Zealand). My research explored the construction of knowledge at the nexus of two very different epistemological traditions: scientific biosecurity and mātauranga Māori (that is, local indigenous knowledge). Accordingly, I paid close attention to (who got to decide) what was considered knowledge, how it was known (which methods were considered valid), and especially, what was done with the knowledge achieved (or how, in a time of accelerated biodiversity loss, what-was-known was reverted to the land and the people). Those reflections about the ways in which knowledge is constructed and (potentially) returned to the more-than-human communities (that were determinant in their creation) changed my understanding of the mechanics and ethics of transdisciplinary research. Those experiences also challenged and transformed my aspirations for the practice of anthropology and aided me in devising different functions for my role as a researcher.

This presentation will be an autoethnographic account of how I abandoned the myth of the anthropologist as a sharp intellectual and heroic fieldworker and embraced a more modest, yet ecologically relevant, function as a seed disperser.

Contribution short abstract:

Collaborative research projects, e.g. citizen science initiatives, have been on the rise sustained by funding bodies recognising the value of the participation of multiple knowledge-holders. This contribution reflects on meanings and implications of the « democratisation » of knowledge production.

Contribution long abstract:

Anthropological knowledge production is embedded in sets of social relationships, from classroom to fieldwork. Anthropology epistemology is itself relational – in the sense that knowledge is collaborative, dialogical, and gained through relationships. The multiplicity of knowledge-holders who can contribute to research projects has been recently recognised across disciplinary fields, with the consequence that collaborative and collective research projects are on the rise and funding bodies positively evaluate relational research engagements involving the public in the research process, like for instance citizen science projects. Research is also communicated in different forms, through different media and in collaborative ways, to ease and increase the access to scientific knowledge.

These efforts of both co-creating applied research that is informing policy making and performing policy making through academic publications, artistic performances and exhibitions can be read in Spivak’s terms: in the name of learning affirmatively to challenge the conventional disciplinary learning and limitations, so that we could use it for those who did not have the right to access or participate or benefit from the extensive knowledge that is being produced by a network of people who are holding powerful positions. This contribution addresses the « democratisation » of knowledge production and critically reflects on its meanings and implications across fields.

Contribution short abstract:

Using autoethnography and African Feminism(s), I explore the impact of changing ecologies on indigenous feminist knowledge, and raise the poignant question of how to pass on life-sustaining traditions when the natural resources essential for these practices are dwindling.

Contribution long abstract:

The Eastern Cape province of South Africa has some of the largest rivers in Southern Africa. Many of the towns through which these rivers run are underdeveloped and isolated from national economic activity and service delivery. As such, Xhosa people- a Bantu ethnic group indigenous to the area- have increasingly relied on rivers for life and livelihoods. With the intensifying and multiple overlapping planetary crises, climate scientists estimate that rivers globally cannot generate sustainable livelihoods for much longer. Less visible is the resultant slow death of cultures and heritage. Xhosa women teach their grandchildren how to make household tools and utensils out of reeds collected along the riverbanks for domestic use and to sell; a common practice which incorporates storytelling and intergenerational knowledge (re)production in crafting. Using autoethnography and African Feminist probing into the attempted erasure of indigenous feminist knowledge as a consequence of changing ecological landscapes, I take seriously the question: When the reeds have all dried out, how do we teach our young the life-sustaining ways of our elders?

Contribution short abstract:

In 2022, I participated in an ethnography film exploring Sheffield's political culture. As an Ethiopian visual anthropologist, I was excited to conduct research in the Global North. However, the experience was more rewarding and complex than anticipated.

Contribution long abstract:

In June 2022, I received an invitation to participate in an ethnographic film exploring the political culture of Sheffield. As an anthropologist from Ethiopia, I was thrilled to conduct fieldwork in the global north. Thus, I embarked on an ethnographic film called "Mugut" Debate: The Wheels of Democracy in Sheffield, ultimately produced in 2024. During my field research, I discovered that while fieldwork in Sheffield was similar to those in remote Ethiopian villages, the work dynamics and co-creation proved challenging. The collaborative process was an enriching experience but required careful consideration and communication to navigate the complexities of a heterogeneous team. I am excited to share my experience during the upcoming roundtable to stimulate a discussion on the boundaries of anthropological research and how we can expand it further in a globalised world.

Keywords

Collaborative ethnography, bargaining power, gatekeepers

Contribution long abstract:

The Pakistani coast experiences intensive pressure: land-based pollution and invasive overfishing, with complex consequences. These include irreversible environmental changes, disturbed ecological functioning, and threatened food security for marginalised communities.

Environmental changes often go unnoticed due to Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS), where incoming generations accept their personal experience of environmental conditions as the norm. This intergenerational desensitisation results in a gradual change in collective memory, due to a lack of knowledge of historical environmental conditions. Over time, collective memory on ecosystem health moves further away from a “true” baseline. Our approach combines qualitative decolonial methodologies with quantitative social-ecological data to corroborate understandings of this socio-environmental challenge.

Two forms of SBS are generational amnesia, where information loss occurs because knowledge is not passed down intergenerationally, and personal amnesia, where information is lost because of individual forgetfulness. To examine this, storytelling sessions will be conducted to elicit intergenerational memories between fisherfolk community elders and young people. This session would be co-produced with Indigenous community members and include a community peer-review.

The storytelling sessions would be compared with fisheries data, archival footage and dive logs from recreational SCUBA divers to corroborate the impact of SBS across the different fish and habitat types. Co-produced decolonial research with Indigenous stakeholders enables reclamation of stewardship and improves policies that reflect local knowledges. This study will result in strategies rooted in local realities rather than Western imaginations.

Contribution short abstract:

Reflecting upon my ethnographic experience as a researcher in the field of forced migration and gender, this paper follows the traces of benchmark moments that have shaped my understanding of positionality and political personhood, and my struggle to make sense of it beyond identity politics.

Contribution long abstract:

Going to the field for the first time, we all have an idea about how our identity - gender, race, class etc. -will situate us in a new social setting. That is what we learn in the books. While acknowledging your privilege as it is, is a nice start, it cannot really take you further, at least to properly understand how these concepts are not just parts of your or anyone’s identity, but multiple intersecting processes always in motion, in a particular place, in a particular time. Then, there comes times when you have to make a decision, not only ethical, not only about your position as a researcher, but about why you do, what you do, as a political subject. These are those little moments, passing conversations, small decisions, informed by all above, that makes a different sense later on. It is not always very easy to break the bonds of identity politics dominating some fields of knowledge production, particularly those imposed by the Global North and interiorized by the subaltern even stronger. Fluidity and ambiguity of interactions with multiple hierarchies are hard to grasp, take a picture and put into words. Reflecting upon my ethnographic experience of 10 years as a researcher working on forced migration and gender in Turkey, this paper follows the traces those little benchmark moments, which I call ‘don’t be an ashole, be a good guy’ moments, in order to discuss my self-reflections on power dynamics, my positionality and political personhood in the field.

Contribution short abstract:

This panel is about the "Living Together" Camp in Bodrum, which utilized art to unite 20 diverse youths, transcending cultural barriers and fostering social cohesion through creative dialogue and shared experiences.

Contribution long abstract:

“Living Together” summer camp, orchestrated by the Association for Migration Research (GAR) in Bodrum during the 2023 summer, emerges as a beacon for social cohesion through the celebration of migration-induced diversity. This initiative focused on 20 youths from varied migratory backgrounds, particularly from regions affected by earthquakes, harnessing art as a medium to weave together personal and collective stories. Inspired by John Dewey's theory of experience, the camp functioned as both a pedagogical venture and a sphere for continuous experiential learning. This paper, adopting participatory action and art-based research methodologies, examines the nuanced interplay between ethnic, cultural, and individual identities as experienced by the participants. The findings underscore art's role as a catalyst for initiating dialogue across diverse cultural terrains. The camp's environment allowed participants to transcend linguistic, ethnic, and cultural divides through collective creative endeavors, showcasing art's capacity to unify within varied contexts. Artistic outputs from the camp underscored recurring themes of identity, societal boundaries, and perceptions, reflecting a collective human experience amid diversity. The insights gleaned from the “Living Together” camp are invaluable for understanding and promoting social cohesion in areas prone to migration. The paper concludes by proposing the camp's model as a solid framework for future projects aiming to nurture unity in diverse environments, highlighting its potential to craft a truly political experience through aesthetic judgment, as reflected in Rancière's philosophy, where the act of creating becomes an act of existence and resistance for those who have lost trust in traditional structures of state and home.

Contribution short abstract:

The paper explores how rumors in the Punjab region carry epistemological values, transmitting cultural knowledge and heritage through folklore and stories. It emphasizes the cultural significance of rumors and their vital role in preserving cultural heritage and communal solidarity.

Contribution long abstract:

Through this paper, I would like to delve into the multifaceted role of rumors within the cultural fabric of the Punjab region, specifically examining how rumors serve as a form of academia for its inhabitants. How within this rich cultural tapestry, rumors are vehicles for the transmission of cultural knowledge and heritage, manifesting as folklore and stories passed down through generations. I would like to draw upon media anthropology and cultural transmission theories, to investigate the nuanced interplay between rumors, academia, and cultural dissemination.

I will explore the Punjab region's vibrant cultural landscape, emphasizing the centrality of oral traditions, storytelling, and folklore in shaping the collective identity of its people. And how these narratives, often dismissed as hearsay, embody significant cultural teachings, historical insights, and communal wisdom.

Moreover, I would like to emphasize the need to recognize the cultural significance of rumors as not merely speculative tales but as fundamental components of Punjab's epistemological tradition. By acknowledging the parallels between rumors and Western epistemological values, this research underscores the vital role of these narratives in preserving cultural heritage and communal solidarity.

Contribution short abstract:

Colonial Anthropology has led to a reductionist view of indigenous people as people with no agency. This gets further complicated in post-colonial states like India having a predominantly caste society, which carries forward this view in policy-making. This paper argues for decolonising this view.

Contribution long abstract:

Most anthropological research methodologies are rooted in colonial pedagogies and are based on western pragmatism, in which researchers study the ‘Other’; the subject that cannot reply or contribute to the research. This problematic method has led to a reductionist view of indigenous people all over the world, positing them as backward, savages and barbaric to name just a few. This further becomes problematic when post-colonial states like India, blindly carry forward colonial anthropological constructs in policymaking thereby leading to further socio-economic-psychological exclusion of the indigenous people. In this paper, I propose the praxis of various decolonial-based, community-integrated, and indigenous methods such as ‘Participatory Learning Action’ or ‘Collaborative Ethnography’ to reject the reductionist approach of one method and place more emphasis on empirical evidence to decolonise knowledge produced in the context of various research activities. This work will ultimately diverge from epistemological research of western and colonial space of knowledge, and scientific gaze. It will initiate a view to see the world through the lens of the Global South, such as Latin America, Africa, and Asia, combining ideas from indigenous areas and marginalised institutions to challenge the generalisation of hegemonic assumptions that undermine other kinds of knowledge (Schulz, 2017 & Tuhin Smith, 2014). The paradigm shift, borrowing from Kuhn (1962), is possible when humanities and social science scholars around the world consider not only adopting local norms of working with, by, and for Indigenous/Native communities within research programs but more importantly make them co-creators and the main stakeholders of epistemic creation.