Collaborative Anthropology and social movements: creative assemblages between subjects in process

Abstract

This article is a reflection on the relationship between anthropology and activism and draws from my own ethnographic fieldwork with social movement networks (2008- 2012). First I will present the distinctive features of collaborative research, and then I will detail the methodological decisions taken during my project. My aim is to underline how collaboration allows us to produce an anthropology ‘with and for’ social movements which: 1) will enrich our understanding of contemporary collective action; 2) will be relevant for our research subjects by connecting with their own interests, needs and concerns; and 3) will engage some of the most salient debates in anthropology, locating epistemic and methodological questions at the centre of our projects.