Diffraction made me do it: Ethical dilemas of of doing research with relational ontologies in kindergarten practice

Abstract

(Disclaimer: There will be a lot of I in this story, which is certainly wrong from the posthuman perspective, but – I can’t help myself) Relational ontologies established themselves as a strong and necessary potential for rethinking and reworking the world as we know it. There are a lot of papers written and talks given on this matter and I assume that at this conference there will be many more. But most of the works in these fields lie in the theoretical speculations and artistic practices, leaning towards the language of science and art forms that are not accessible to the general public, as well as for the ambitious beginners of an academic career - such as me. This is difficult for someone who is a pedagogue - faced with the need to make sense and paths with scholars and practitioners alike; who is a pedagogue and a scientist – expected to establish not just the marginal practices but footholds and directions for the system; and who is a pedagogue and a scientist in times and in the country whose values rapidly slide towards the right-wing, becoming intolerant of the wanderings, uncertainties and fluidity which relational ontologies advocate. In this exposition, I wish to share the experiences from my fieldwork, focusing on ethical dilemmas that emerged from trying to work with relational ontologies and be a part of life in one kindergarten group. Broadly, I would discuss three questions: • Who are the participants of the research, and how do they (if they?) participate; • What is the role of the researcher (and who is the researcher, anyway?); • What can be expected from the scientific research (and does it even matter?); This will not be the presentation of the exemplary practice – because it was certainly not - but I do not wish to conclude with the idea that this is not possible. I wish to open up the space for us to think about how to work it into a possibility.