The promise of agency in the narrative productions methodology. Thinking through decolonial feminisms

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Narrative Productions Methodology (NPM) is a methodological tool grounded in feminist epistemologies, particularly in situated knowledges. In the NPM, a Narrative is co-created between researcher and participant, which has raised interest in many researchers and participants alike. The possibility to modify the text as they wish is an effort to foster participants’ agency. However, the promise of agency is undelivered. Throughout the article, a feminist decolonial approach is used to understand how colonial difference affects communication between researcher and participant. The privileging of gender as the site of subordination in feminist epistemologies is also questioned in the article and linked to the NPM. Finally, the aporia of hospitality is brought into the conversation to discuss how researcher and participant relate to each other in the NPM. This allows for deepening into the effects of the colonial matrix of power in the NPM and, thus, the problem with participants’ agency.