This workshop series aims to hold a set of sessions in which other ways of constructing methodologies will be discussed. We start from the assumption that there are some standard methodologies, the most widespread and disseminated in academic circles, that perceive the world from a particular context and way of living and feeling the world. We are referring to the methodologies best known as quantitative vs qualitative and their own derivations.

The proposal is motivated by a series of concerns about conventional methodological practises and possible alternatives to them, questions such as:

• What are “conventional methodologies” and what are their problems?
• How do coloniality and decoloniality permeate methodological constructions?
• What knowledges are made visible and invisible in our methodological practises?
• How can we open up the diversity of methods and lenses for looking at and acting on the world?
• How can we practice collaborative and non-extractive forms of knowledge construction?

We assume the premise that the role of academia is to transform society progressively and that thinking is not neutral or objective; it is situated and part of history. Therefore, when we think about methodologies, we cannot use the same tools and universalise them, but we must consider them from the research’s very contexts (places, themes).

In this sense, we intend to start by discussing the purpose of academic research in political ecology, and whether research can (and in what way) be engaged and contribute to transforming the reality in which we are involved.

Objectives
The general objective of this workshop series is to develop and promote critical reflection on research methodologies in the field of political ecology, looking for other methodologies that challenge conventional methodological approaches that often universalise perspectives and disregard specific contexts.

The specific objectives include:

1. To collectively reflect on conventional methodologies and how they influence thinking and practice in political ecology
2. To present possibilities for methodologies "in reverse", put them into practice, and collectively reflect on the experience

Format of the sessions
The format of the sessions will be workshops. Each session will have background readings, but during the session, the focus will be on practical exercises and deliberative reflections on the application of the methodologies in question.
 

Participation is free, but registration is mandatory https://forms.gle/4CnuMrVBKnvN2pTL9