Participatory Methodology and Symbolic Power
The following is an input presentation which I prepared for the Symposium ‘Critical Methodology and Community Psychology’ at the 4th International Conference on Community Psychology (4ICCP) in Barcelona on June 21st to 23rd, 2012. The Symposium was arranged and conveyed by David Fryer, with Brona Nic Giolla Easpaig, Dolores S. Miranda Gierbolini, Carlos Rivera, and me as participants.
Please start the presentation (flash film) by clicking here or on the picture below.
… Though I got much of the ideas from reflecting critically about participation in evaluations, I believe it fits with other fields of participatory knowledge production, such as action research and community-based participatory research, too.
Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, cultural and other forms of capital, and of symbolic power are helpful in illuminating very implicit, incorporated/embodied foundations, on which hidden forms of power and ‘non-violent violence’ build, and which are obstacles to facilitating participation.