Navigating the Perilous Waters of Partisan Scholarship
Participatory Action Research (PAR) with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8042497 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Huw Thomas (0000-0002-6465-229X, University of Bristol, corresponding author), Peter Turnbull (0000-0002-7101-1538, University of Bristol) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 703-720 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Work Employment and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09500170211038531 |
| OpenAlex | W3194697262 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 25 |
Participatory action research (PAR) has been offered up as a methodological orientation for public sociology. The challenges of PAR at the local level have been well documented. In contrast, PAR with the labour movement, in particular international meta-organisations such as global trade union federations, has received short shrift. We demonstrate how partisan scholars working with the labour movement can engage with both the different logics of collective action and the different levels of worker representation in pursuit of (political) emancipation. To illustrate how PAR can be ‘scaled up’ from the local to the global, we reflect on our participation with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF). This revealed three particular perils of PAR – personal, purpose and political – that partisan scholars must navigate in order to foster action and emancipation by research. While PAR is an affirming process for our research partners, it is not a panacea for their problems
Action (physics · Citizen journalism · Civil society · Collective action · Economics · Emancipation · European union · Panacea (medicine · Participatory action research · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Scholarship · Sociology · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Public Administration
Industrial relations, critical social science and reform
(How) can international trade union organisations be democratic
Speaking Out
For Public Sociology
Engaging Contradictions
More inclusive European governance through impact assessments
Participatory Action Research as a Process and as a Goal
Extending critical performativity
Bringing the Offshore Ashore
Ethical and Political Challenges of Participatory Action Research in the Academy
Objective but not detached
Revisits
Partisan, scholarly and active
Trade unions and action research
Collective narratives and politics in the contemporary study of work
The Public Turn
Reframing the public sociology debate
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |