Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper is based on recent research we have conducted with social movements in Colombia. We are both academics and members of the movements and have designed our research with these goals in mind and sometimes with other members’ participation. We have collected data and analyzed it to create geographical and social network cartographies that explain how the organizations work. We have come across all types of issues while conducting this research: distrust of academics by some members of the movements due to association of academia with knowledge extractivism; power struggles within social movements that result in factions unfairly rejecting research practices to maintain their positions and privileges: fear of unwanted visibility of activists whose names and organizations could become the target of government agencies, corporation lawsuits and even organized crime; doubts about where to store safely the significant volume of quantitative and qualitative data collected; concern about the proprietary or open software that we use to analyze the data; and ongoing discussions about what data and results could be publicly released or not. The paper is a reflection on the issues arising from conducting participatory and collaborative research in times of datafication, extreme and sometimes unfair distrust of academia, and the need for new ethical considerations for contemporary research in the Humanities. Academic reflexivity in research has promoted more ethical practices but has sometimes resulted in or indirectly helped factions of social movements hide or advance agendas that foster their positions and demonize openness efforts of researchers.