Countering Ableism in Knowledge Production

Abstract

Participatory action research (PAR) employs co-researchers to further epistemic justice for and empowerment of subaltern people. This methodological reflection discusses how user-led PAR with disabled people challenges ableism – hegemonic notions about normate bodyminds – in knowledge production. I draw on my experiences as a disabled anthropologist and as a facilitator of Zeg het ons! PAR projects – the Dutch version of Ask me!, Zeg het ons! seeks scientific recognition and counters ableism by empowering co-researchers to deploy their experiential disability expertise in quality-of-life research. PAR may contribute to de-ableization while partly reproducing epistemic hierarchies. PAR requires experiential and theoretical knowledge on how to deploy positionalities, institutional and interactional arrangements to be successful. More attention for experiential and practical knowledge in academic outlets could help.

Keywords

• ableism in knowledge production
• inclusive research
• disability hierarchies
• empowerment
• anthropology at home
• disability studies