Talking and acting for our rights: The interview in an action-research setting

Lopes, Ana

Abstract

This chapter draws upon an action-research project in which the ethnographer became a participant and facilitator of a collective effort that led to the unionisation of sex workers in the UK. It is within this context that I will explore the way in which the interview in action- research settings can be used as a tool for action planning and action generation, as well as ‘authentic’ data generation. As I turned from ethnographer to action researcher, I became a co-producer or co- generator of knowledge that is relevant for action. I ask, in this chapter, to what extent can the agenda of the interview be appropriated by those being interviewed, as a tool to critically understand structures of power and seek social change?

Citation

Lopes, A. (2015). Talking and acting for our rights: The interview in an action-research setting. In K. Smith, J. Staples, & N. Rapport (Eds.), Extraordinary Encounters: Authenticity and the Interview, 157-174. Berghahn Books

• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Pages: 157-174
• Series Title: Methodology & History in Anthropology
• Book Title: Extraordinary Encounters: Authenticity and the Interview
• ISBN: 9781782385899
• Keywords: sex workers, labour rights
• Publisher URL: http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=SmithExtraordinary
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This chapter appears in a larger collection published by Berghahn Books (http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=SmithExtraordinary). SAMPLE CITATION: Lopes, Ana. 2015. “Talking and acting for our rights: The interview in an action-research setting” In Extraordinary Encounters: Authenticity and the Interview, eds. Katherine Smith, James Staples and Nigel Rapport. New York: Berghahn Books.