Presentation short abstract

In this paper we present a collective process aimed at engaging with researchers’ emotions and affects to reflect on practices that are at the crossroads of political ecology and participatory action research. This allows reflecting on the transformative nature of our research activities.

Presentation long abstract

This is the story of a research collective engaged in an STS and Political Ecology inspired reflexive process to shed light on instances of participatory action research in which some of us are involved and that ambition to support just water transformations in France, Senegal, Tunisia, and Cambodia. As a collective, we felt experimenting with creative ways of doing research could lay the ground for a genuine analysis of how research – whether political ecology or participatory action research - is intertwined with just transformations, beyond self-fulfilling grand statement of intents. We drew sensory maps of the sociohydrological territories in which we work, self-described our research stances through collages, and designed a card game in collaboration with a visual artist. We also experimented with ways to explore research stances and practices through bodies in the form of image-theatre, play-back theatre, and forum-theatre. Exploring emotions and affects proved conducive for exploring the multiple dilemmas each and every one of us grappled with daily yet seldom expressed in academic writing, e.g. the development of working collaborations with marginalized and dominant groups; or the impetus emotions provide and their suppression in the name of scientific legitimacy... Our experience shows that such exploration is tantamount to riding a wave of discomfort: it is about voicing the contradictions inherent to our position of researchers in the Global North, about making oneself vulnerable, and about expressing doubt – most importantly it hinges on establishing a climate of trust and benevolence that is akin to careful research.