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Paper short abstract

Through a case study of Salento, this paper asks: how do we do “hands-on” fieldwork guided by an epistemology of complexity? It details a symbiotic anthropology-climatology collaboration, practicing “continuous translation” to co-create knowledge across disciplinary divides in a permacrisis world.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores a methodological framework grounded in an epistemology of complexity. To navigate a world characterized by intersecting and persistent crises, it argues for moving beyond reductionism to embrace interconnectivity, uncertainty, and dialogue across the traditional divides between "hard" and "soft" sciences. Its central inquiry is not just theoretical but profoundly practical: how does one "approach the field with the hands" when guided by this framework? The paper addresses this through a case study from Salento, Southern Italy, where a climate crisis is profoundly exacerbated by the ecological devastation caused by the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. It details a symbiotic collaboration between environmental anthropology and climatology, demonstrating an interdisciplinary practice of continuous translation. This involves calibrating quantitative climate models with qualitative narratives, and situating phytopathological data within the lived experiences of local communities. The research shows how such an approach integrates the analysis of biophysical phenomena with the perceptions, experiences, and socio-economic realities—such as high out-migration driven by a lack of infrastructure, work, and education—that shape a crisis. By detailing this collaborative fieldwork, the paper highlights the innovative forms of knowledge co-creation and mediation that become possible when researchers actively work in the interstitial spaces between disciplines and discourses, while also critically engaging with the inherent challenges and limits of such an endeavor.