Knowledge Production as PoliticalPraxis

The paper is an introduction to the Coproducción investigativa (coproduction research) method as developed in Buenos Aires and Latin America taking into account a variety of contexts. We show the importance of the Encuentro discursivo (conversational relationship) as a key research component that makes Coproducción investigativa qualitatively different from standard approaches routinely used in social research and how a partnership relationship with social actors may prevent the researcher from taking away knowledge from the “object” of study. Working with social movements requires the adoption of a perspective of collective production of narratives and knowledge. Within this perspective two crucial elements are the convergencia dialógica (conversational focus) and the opportunities for the social actors to feel and to implement direct ownership of the narratives and knowledge which results from the research process. This method has been adopted to promote the Coproducción de Conocimientos (Knowledge co-production) with the first two “Encuentros Internacionales: Construyendo la Universidad Popular Urbana en América Latina”, the two continental meetings of the Urban Popular University (UPU), an initiative of the International Alliance of Inhabitants. The meetings where organised in partnership with the Universidad de Buenos Aires (2006) and Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (2007), and they were discussed during the Foros Internacionales ALAS (Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología) in Guadalajara 2007 and Buenos Aires 2009. The paper summarises the methodological outcomes and the research perspectives arising from the international meetings and the discussions that took place in the academic foras.