Reflections from the method: displacement, participation and performance as strategies for critical thinking / action

Reflexiones desde el método: desplazamiento, participación y performance como estrategias para el pensamiento/acción críticos

This text is structured in two parts: (I) a brief overview of cultural studies in Peru and their institutionalization in academic programs with the objective of discussing the challenges posed to cultural studies in the Peruvian context; and (II) a discussion regarding the political vocation of cultural studies, which is organized around two questions - what are the conditions under which critical thinking is generated and cultural action is carried out ?, and - What are the challenges that a performative order poses to culture as a public action? I conclude my presentation with the argument that, in order to transcend the distinction between critical thinking and social action, a rigorous and critical reflection on the method is necessary, understood as a strategic resource to: (I) design and carry out research designed as creative and transformative action, and (II) place it within the framework of specific academic, political and ethical horizons.