Epistemic reflections on the study of subjectivity in popular movements

Abstract

This article is aimed at socializing a series of epistemic reflections on the study of popular movements, particularly from an approach centered
in the construction of subjectivities. These reflections derive from a doctoral research work carried out in collaboration with popular movements of Buenos
Aires Metropolitan Area, Argentina. From a critical epistemology perspective, the category of placement, which structures the epistemic thought of Hugo Zemelman, is considered essential in terms of thematising the subjective positioning of the researchers within their historical present as well as the mediations in their relations with reality. Based on a rework of Zelmelman’s category, we introduce two dimensions of the placement: “place oneself in between” and “place oneself with (others)”. The first dimension gives an account of the dynamic and complex nature of social reality that has influence on the object approach, the theoretical options and the methodological decisions made by researchers. The second dimension considers the intersubjective nature of the research task and its implications in the researchers’ subjectivity, in which politics, ethics and epistemology are interweaved. The conclusions remark the importance of reflective exercises about research practice, from concrete experiences, as a contribution to the necessary debate on the processes of knowledge construction in Social Sciences.