The Embodied Countryside: Methodological Reflections in Place

Abstract

This article contributes to conceptualisations of the countryside as an embodied space through a reflective engagement with the use of participatory methods with the campesinas (peasant women) of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in Colombia. The key aim of the article is to explore how the embodied everyday experiences of the field and the methodologies associated to these are marked by place. To do so, I focus on two empirical aspects of my research. Firstly, I examine how engaging with place is pivotal to understanding the countryside as a relational and embodied space. Secondly, I demonstrate how the participatory methods I engaged with can provide place-based insights to understanding the rural as embodied. Overall, this article contributes to the literature on how researchers perform and enact rural research, while aiming to de(s)colonise knowledge production.