Paper short abstract:

The presentation will describe some collaborative experiences we realised with the Mebengokré Amerindians from the Amazon as diversions. The aim is to discuss if and how these effectively and affectively engaged the actors involved and impacted the structured ways of doing anthropology.

Paper long abstract:

As a result of a growing emphasis on ethical dimensions of the discipline and the increasing number of scholars that are part of people previously excluded from the universities, anthropologists have been dedicating growing attention to the development of more collaborative ways of “doing” anthropology in academia and its dissemination. Within this framework, my presentation describes and discusses collaborative efforts that we jointly realised with the Mebengokré Amerindian people living in the Amazon in the last years. These include the collective writing of academic papers, the joint curatorship of photographic and ethnographic exhibitions, and the collaborative elaboration of research-action projects. Based on these examples, I will reflect on co-production as “diversion” and if and how it is effectively and affectively challenging the canonised format of anthropology as an academic discipline. Are these efforts a “diversion” as a different path to achieve the same goal? Are these a “diversion” as a movement toward an unexpected result? Or are these a “diversion” as a funnier and more engaging way of doing anthropology? I argue that the most efficacious way to challenge the hierarchies of epistemological practices and academic formats and structures is to join all three kinds of diversion.