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Alteridades

versão On-line ISSN 2448-850Xversão impressa ISSN 0188-7017

Alteridades vol.16 no.31 Ciudad de México Jan./Jun. 2006

 

Dossier

Entre la antropología y los derechos humanos. Hacia una investigación activista y comprometida críticamente

At the crossroads of Human Rights and Anthropology: toward a critically-engaged activist research

Shannon Speed* 

*Investigadora y docente, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at Austin. 1 University Station C3200, Austin TX 78712. sspeed@mail.utexas.edu


Resumen

En este ensayo se reexamina la relación de la antropología con los derechos humanos. Mediante una experiencia de colaboración en un caso presentado ante la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), llevado por la comunidad de Nicolás Ruiz (Chiapas, México); se consideran las cuestiones éticas, prácticas y epistemológicas que pueden surgir en la investigación definida por activismo legal. Se propone que el compromiso de la investigación activista es imprescindible y productivo. Una investigación crítica y activista puede favorecer la transformación de la disciplina, al orientar la producción del conocimiento y trabajar en la descolonización del proceso de investigación. En vez de ocultarlas, mantiene las siempre presentes tensiones y contradicciones inherentes a la antropología de los derechos humanos, se beneficia de ellas y las convierte en la parte productiva del proceso analítico y político. Finalmente, esta forma de investigación permite combinar el análisis crítico cultural (critical cultural analysis) Con la acción política, para producir conocimiento empíricamente sustentado, teóricamente valioso y éticamente viable.

Palabras clave: derechos humanos; Chiapas; investigación activista

Abstract

This article re examines anthropology’s engagement with human rights today. Through the lens of the author’s experience in a case brought before the International Labor Organization by a community in Chiapas, Mexico, this work considers the ethical, practical, and epistemological questions that arise in a research defined by rights activism. The argument is that the critical engagement brought about by activist research is both necessary and productive. Such research may contribute to transforming the discipline by addressing the politics of knowledge production and working to decolonize our research process. Rather than seeking to avoid or resolve the tensions inherent in anthropological research on human rights, activist research draws them to the fore, making them a productive part of the process. Finally, activist research allows us to merge cultural critique with political action to produce knowledge that is empirically grounded, theoretically valuable and ethically viable.

Key words: human rights; Chiapas; activist research

Texto completo disponible sólo en PDF.

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