Engaged excellence and the challenge of democratizing knowledge: Reflections on the history and practice of participatory research

Abstract

What can we learn from the histories and practices of participatory research in our efforts to democratize knowledge? In this lecture, Dr. Budd Hall traces the political, methodological and personal journeys that shaped participatory research across continents. Through his work in Tanzania under Julius K. Nyerere and in dialogue with thinkers such as Paulo Freire and Orlando Fals Borda, he reflects on how participatory research emerged through collective efforts guided by a vision of social transformation. Extending Freire’s argument that methodology is never neutral but shaped by ideology and power, Hall examines how knowledge production is structured by the social positions researchers occupy. Speaking as a white, male academic from a wealthy country, he reflects on how universities reward publications and professional recognition, while community collaborators rarely receive similar benefits. Recalling key developments such as the 1977 Cartagena conference convened by Orlando Fals Borda, the lecture situates participatory research as a politically grounded practice shaped by struggles for justice. Hall affirms that it deserves a place within universities while remaining accountable to communities, and calls for sustained critical engagement with power, inequality and the ethical responsibilities of knowledge creation.