Becoming, sensibility, and imagination in social research. A collaborative exploration with defenders of water in Chile

Bibliographic Data

ID22433591
AuthorsMaría Consuelo Sánchez (Universidad de La Frontera), Hugo Marcelo Zunino (Universidad de La Frontera), Hugo Zunino (0000-0001-9302-7904, Universidad de La Frontera), Martin Araneda (Universidad de La Frontera), Carla Cepeda (0000-0001-7723-7477, Universidad de La Frontera)
Year2026
Volume11
Pages1813831-1813831
Publication date2026-07-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2297-7775 • E-ISSN: 2297-7775
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fsoc.2026.1813831
PMID42500592
OpenAlexW7167886034
LanguageEN
References cited37

In the framework of recent critiques of modern epistemologies that dichotomize sentient human beings from the world, this article explores modes of knowledge grounded in the interconnected becoming of human beings, other living beings, society, and nature. Drawing on the insights of Gilles Deleuze, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Merleau-Ponty, among others, we develop a mode of social inquiry that approaches knowledge as a creative and collective endeavor activated as human beings enter into a sensible and imaginative relationship with the world. These ideas are put to work in a collaborative exploration with defenders of the waters of Lake Villarrica in Chile, with the aim of projecting this defense into the future. We employ body movement and artistic expression as tools to bridge the human-nature divide and herein create a collective space open to creation and exploration. The experience of becoming was partially achieved at specific junctures during the process, making it possible to recognize the intrinsic power of water and, from this collective realization, allow different perspectives to converge with renewed impulses. We highlight that the collective impulses for action are partial and unfinished achievements, always renewing themselves through the living interaction among diverse human beings.

Action (physics) · Bridge (graph theory) · Collective action · Collective intelligence · Non-human · Power (physics) · Space (punctuation) · Work (physics) · Cultural and Social Dynamics · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access