Doing Area Studies in the Americas and Beyond: Towards Reciprocal Methodologies and the Decolonization of Knowledge

Horizontal methodologies in community interpreting studies: Conducting research with Latin American service users in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…Only then can different voices come together to create new knowledge. Because demands are a fundamental part of human relationships, every dialogue will elicit a generative conflict , when the interest of the researcher is brought “into shocking relief with the interest of the researched” (Kaltmeier, 2017, p. 53). Generative conflicts arise at the intersection of different perspectives, such as those offered by academics and non-academics, or by researchers from different disciplines.…”

“…Instead, knowledge is validated through reciprocity and an open, uncertain, and productive dialogue (Cornejo & Rufer, 2020). In a horizontal context, the academic’s task is not to speak about the other but rather to speak with the other (Kaltmeier, 2017). While this premise is also the base for the coproduction of knowledge within a variety of research traditions (Palumbo & Vacca, 2020), in this case it is understood within a much broader context of equality and liberation (de Sousa Santos, 2018).…”

“…Finally, even though horizontal methodologies question the academic field’s understanding of authorship as a way to accumulate prestige, and instead encourage co-authorship (Kaltmeier, 2017), I abided by my institutional requirements that established that my contribution to any publications arising out of the research had to be of at least 80%. In a different research context, however, both the thematic analysis and the writing process could be conducted cooperatively in a horizontal manner.…”

“…According to horizontal methodologies, generative conflicts arise at the intersection of different perspectives and are the starting points for the production of knowledge (Kaltmeier, 2017). Therefore, after the period of emotional turmoil described above, I understood that the confrontation of opposite stances was a necessary part of the research process.…”