Enacted Ethnography: Stories, Affect, and Activism

Abstract (English)

In this paper I present Enacted Ethnography an approach that weaves together forms of improvisational theater with multimodal, iterative conversations. Based on Paolo Freire’s ideas of conscientization and the co-production of knowledge, enacted ethnography connects performance theory, scholarship on affect, and the concept of authentic cariño (care). Bringing together participatory improvisational performance and ethnographic methods, enacted ethnography replaces hierarchical research approaches with horizontal collaborations, seeking to overcome the limitations of purely logocentric epistemologies. Building on group spontaneity, enacted ethnography constitutes collaborative worlding practices that seek affective, ethical, and political transformations. As the stage ceases to be simply a place for performance, research is no longer about reality but instead participates in its creation, linking enacted ethnography to engaged scholarship and activism.