Participatory approaches are currently fashionable. However, if they involve research, things are not always self-evident, particularly if knowledge of many origins is at stake. In a study of participatory research, an anthropologist and a specialist in information and communication sciences looked at the ways in which knowledge was legitimized within a project in Senegal.
How can scientific knowledge be legitimized? Within this project, two local players, a farmers' association leader and a marabout, were involved. The marabout, for instance, translated the issues at stake by making public reference to surahs from the Koran. However, legitimization must also apply to local knowledge, from the point of view of scientists. In this case too, novel techniques were developed. The use of photos by the various players, combined with surveys, served to reveal and set out the viewpoints of each stakeholder.
The study also showed that the legitimization process led to a change in the stakeholders' social status: the smallholders' leader now describes himself as a "peasant microbiologist", while the marabout boosted his religious knowledge by translating the scientific knowledge. Lastly, from the researchers' point of view, a clear distinction can be made between two concepts of research: international production of advanced science within a highly competitive context, and the development of participatory science concerned with relevance and social issues.
via CIRAD - Actualités / News http://ift.tt/1otxzKw
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