Participatory research in service of emancipation and breaking silence: An experience in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present participatory research as a methodological strategy in its theoretical and practical bases, interweaving these bases with those of Sociodrama. For this purpose, this study analyzes and discusses an experience in Brazil, with female embroiderers in the suburb of São Paulo, aiming at developing an entrepreneurial collective. It focuses on the beginning of the field work, in which communicative spaces are opened that allow silences to be overcome and emancipation to be attained. The authors conclude by highlighting that participatory research can work as a critical instrument for breaking silence and initiating mobilization. Participatory research allows to generate knowledge and overcome “states of resignation” in order to transform the practice subjects’ reality.