Direct Action

All knowledge production is the result of a collective doing. Whether acknowledged or not, action, or doing, is always at the center of learning and knowing, underscoring how knowledge production is always a social process situated in specific contexts. Action in this instance can be as uncomplicated as convening a space of encounter, initiating an investigation, or conducting an interview. It can also be a more elaborate effort that disrupts business as usual. Without direct action, research will likely be limited to academic debate or in service of bureaucratic exigency. Similarly, without research direct actions are likely to be incomplete, ill-timed, poorly executed, and less likely to serve the intended purpose of revealing the limitations of opponents, informing publics about issues, and engaging current strategies. Treated as pedagogical, direct action always creates the opportunity for or produces new knowledge.