Working together: towards a political epistemology

Authors

Keywords:

ethics, anthropology, epistemology, politics, extractivism

Abstract

Analyzing our research practices, between anthropology in the university and militant research, we explore the connections and tensions between critical social research and political intervention. The axis on which the exercise pivots is ethics, understood from the link it establishes with epistemology and politics: ethics, as a relational and dialogical practice, is at the very core of the way of knowing; and it approaches politics, to the extent that research, by attending to the relationship, is charged with potentiality as a transformative experience. The continuous problematization of research and its effects, as well as the openness to the reaction of the other, make this ethic a daily practice in socio anthropological work. To stop denying that things are done wrong, to be attentive to the power effects of research, to work to avoid stripping others of their knowledge, to take those others seriously, to consider ways of interrupting self-reproduction and extractivism, and to welcome the harm, listening to it on its own terms, are learnings that we share, and that take shape from the doubts, failures, tensions and stakes of our research.

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Published

2025-06-20

How to Cite

Pérez, M., & Ávila, D. (2025). Working together: towards a political epistemology. Encrucijadas. Revista Crítica De Ciencias Sociales, 25(1), a2504. Retrieved from https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/encrucijadas/article/view/111477