Liberation Research, Feminist Decolonial Intersectional Methodologies and Methods

Liberation Research represents a whole body of studies produced by scholar-activists, women, people of color, Lgbtqia+, concerned scientists and advocates. It is grounded on the principle that social movements and communities cannot be an ‘object’ of studies any more - being fully capable to do research on themselves (Lewin 1946, Freire 1973, Bullard 1990, Corradi 2012, Ocalan 2020) Groups, collectives, communities are active subjects in constructing a sociology of freedom, carrying out bottom-up participatory investigations on chosen socially relevant issues. Therefore, Liberation Research is oriented towards democratization of knowledge and community-led social change.

Feminisms gave a great contribution in dismantling dominant narratives and positivistic methodologies based on the wrong assumption of ‘neutrality’ (Harding 1986). Especially in qualitative social research, by focusing on liberation from patriarchy, colonialism, ableism, speciesism and gender binary system, feminisms shed light on the roots of oppression on women and other subjects. Particularly, Intersectional and Decolonial Methodologies are giving an unprecedented impulse to socially useful reseach in all fields - highlighting not just the cross-roads among different axis of inequalities, but also possibilities for intersectional alliances in the present turbulent times of increased violence and fragmentation.

Women’s inventiveness in tailoring action-research with by crafting feminist methods – from focus groups to auto-ethnography – have shown relevant paths of transformation. The Kurdish women proposal of Jineoloji (Women’s Science) may represent a change of paradigm in Liberation Research and knowledge production, oriented towards direct eco-democracy, self-government, inter-religious and inter-ethnic confederalism, equality in the difference, and active de-patriarchalization of societies.