Summary
There are many innovations in “research” that push the field forward. From inclusive research, democratizing research, fast research, futures research, and VR/AR research to mixed methods, agile research, participatory research, behavioral research, AI research, systems research, and trauma-responsive research; the future of research seems to be improving. However, the vast majority of innovations in “research” work at the outer surface of “research,” leaving the Anglocentric core of “research,” along with its assumptions and views, fundamentally untouched. Interestingly, only a tiny percentage of research is done by people we call researchers. The vast majority of research is done by people around the world in the service of their hyperlocal being and doing, their aspirations, livelihoods, survival, visions, thriving, and problem-solving. With their inspiration, what happens when we break away from this UNIverse, this one-world world with only one center, one globalizing Westernized understanding and control of research and knowledge? What happens when we enter a world of many centers and many understandings of knowledge and research that come from various ways of being in the world? What happens when we acknowledge and enter the pluralistic multiverse - the pluriverse? Let us explore what research in the pluriverse looks like and whether you are ready to embark on a pluriversal journey. It only requires a yes.
Key Insights
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Storytelling is a powerful means of connecting with identity and knowledge.
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Mainstream research often prioritizes Western methodologies, sidelining diverse perspectives.
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Community engagement is essential for authentic research practices.
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There is significant value in different forms of knowledge, including relational and embodied.
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The commodification of knowledge limits the understanding of truth; stories hold deeper meanings.
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Research should be a collaborative process, not extractive in nature.
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The pluriverse perspective offers a more inclusive understanding of knowledge.
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Colonial narratives fail to represent the complexity of lived realities.
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Valuing local ways of knowing can restore marginalized voices in research communities.
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Knowledge should be seen as relational, formed through communal relationships.
Notable Quotes
"From the mountains to the marshes and the Seven Seas, storytelling weaves wisdom's past with present experiences."
"I want a story that shakes me, a story that unsettles me and brings me back to a familiar land."
"We cultivated a culture of comfort with the discomfort of not knowing."
"Mainstream institutional knowledge is just a study of aesthetic, energetic, and embodied experiences."
"In those days, the world was full of Eurocentrism while it was nowhere to be found."
"Coloniality has no place for ways of being that cannibalize other narratives."
"Our future research must honor the diverse knowledge systems that exist in our communities."
"Poverty is not just the absence of money; it is the absence of relationships through which resources flow."
"We should think of research beyond problems and conclusions to legacy and survival."
"Research can be anything that gathers, stores, and transmits knowledge interpersonally."
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