Against Data - Decolonizing Research

"The academic needs the he figure of the black: we are the analytical sites, the data, the experiment, the security guards, the cleaners, the administrative assistants, the nonnormative teachers, through which so much scholarship moves."

- Katherine McKittrick, Dear Science and Other Stories

"Decolonizing", a term fashionably peppered across curricula, is a contested concept, weaponized and instrumentalized in political battles across global academia - and beyond. What does doing decolonized research actually entail? Can one decolonize one's own approach? Where do the signs of a decolonized research methodology surface? Can the academy be decolonized from within? This seminar will interrogate the far-fetched claim of neutrality in research at large, and of doctoral research in particular, through the lens of decolonial research discourse. Together we will explore precedents and methodologies, understanding how decolonized approaches fundamentally change the nature of conventional academic research. The seminar is articulated around four sessions/ roundtables that problematize/ address:

1.Positioning (Researcher & the Institution-issue of Polytech., value-systems, humanities, etc., Platforms)
2.Subject & Intersections
3.Tracking (Methods, Data Capture )
4.Data (Assessment & Communication - white papers, conferences, etc)
Possible Guests: Ozayr Saloojee (MOR/NE), Sinthujan Varatharajah (GE), Diana Martinez (US), Sarah Lopez (UPenn, USA), Françoise Vergès (FR), Cheryl Harris (UCLA, USA).

Each of the sessions will be organized as a roundtable discussion, including doctoral students, masters students, EPFL scholars and researchers, and external guests, providing a platform for critical reflection, dialogue, and collaboration on navigating the complexities of fieldwork across diverse research environments. This seminar should provide a rare platform for critical reflection, sustained dialogue, and collaborative reimagining - an opportunity to collectively navigate and contest the complexities of conducting research across diverse environments while actively working toward decolonized methodologies.