Research Practice

Some weeks ago during sauna, my brother-in-law asked me: “What exactly do you do (as a researcher)?” This text – my opening remarks at my PhD defense in 2016 – is my answer to the question. Read here if you ever wondered the same about research in general and my work specifically.

In the keynote panel at Nordmedia 2019, in Malmö (Sweden), I talked about (a) what I have been doing as a researcher to overcome challenges in academia; (b) how I have challenged myself to be a better researcher; and (c) how I have tried to exchange ideas with society and future generations of scholars.

In February 2021, I participated in the Speaker Series of Loughborough University and Cardiff University. I talked about Paulo Freire’s legacy in our work at ARMA Alliance. I argued that Freire remains a key reference for collective action for solidarity, mutual learning, justice, respect and changes.

The relationship between “collaboration” and “career” in research is very complicated, but we still don’t seem to talk about it as much as we should. This is a conversation we especially have to have with students who might be considering to take a collaborative path on their academic trajectories.

Doing activist research is very rewarding, but also very challenging. Collaborative efforts – especially as individuals in a neoliberal society – can be highly emotional and conflicting. Experiencing a call-out and a shout-out in the past weeks taught me about the importance of being upfront and promoting mutual support in academia and activism.

The more I listen to scholars and activists who write about coloniality and structural racism in society and academia, the more I understand the origins of the intense feelings I feel as a researcher and learn how to deal with them.

I spent most of last Saturday in Maré. Maré is a region formed by sixteen favelas in the North Zone (low-income working-class region) of Rio. Since March Maré has been occupied by the army. I mentioned to a local friend that I would like to see the favela with the presence of the army. I have wondered how it has affected the everyday life of the place. So she took me around for what she called an “ethnographic walk”. These are some perceptions I had during and after it.

During the times I spend doing fieldwork in Rio, I have written side stories about everyday life peculiarities. I had taken these notes in 2012 and 2013 (they are here if you want to read them). Here you can read the notes of 2014.

As a social scientist, being a local outsider puts me in a privileged position. In researching Brazilian society, I have more access to the people and its mentality than many of my non-Brazilian colleagues. At the same time, I am more detached from Brazil than my colleagues studying ourselves as people from within.