Feeling or Funding? Critical Coproduction, Rationality, Emotionality, and Axiological Reflections

Abstract

Coproduced research is at risk of becoming, and has perhaps already become, a ‘mere buzzword’, separated from its social and academic value. We argue this is connected to two things: the structuring of contemporary, particularly Global Northern, academia, and the traditional, dichotomous, and false intellectual separation of rationality from emotionality. Our modest attempt to tackle these problems come in the form of an extended critical discussion of coproduction and a social theoretical account of the emotions. These sections provide something of a ‘ground clearing’, based upon which, we illustrate our thesis with two personal accounts about how we came to value coproduction as a fundamentally moral and ethical way to approach our research. We conclude by appealing to colleagues to join us in attempting to undermine the empty and tokenistic use of coproduction by openly and honestly discussing the axiological and emotional foundations from which they work.