Critical Hope is an Action

In this episode we explore the inspiring concept of Critical Hope with Tara Mahoney. Co-authored with Kari Grain, their article “Not All Hope is Created Equal: Climate Action Research as a Source of Critical Hope” is a rich resource for how to find your way when dealing with complexity in climate work and action research.

Joe and Blane first introduce Tara and begin by asking her to define critical hope, and how it departs from optimism, including a walkthrough of the seven principles Kari Grain developed in her previous work [2:26]. The conversation then turns to the role of emotion in climate action research, and specifically the role of community in processing anger and grief [08:12]. How does critical hope then translate when working in a research context, which typically asks researchers to be emotionally removed? Tara shares how the Community Engaged Research Initiative grapples with balancing emotional and logical lenses within a research project [12:52]. These kinds of collaborations take time, and Tara reflects on the importance of trust and true relationship building [20:22]. Joe then probes how different research paradigms, like Two-Eyed Seeing, can be used in these more critical and participatory engaged research processes, especially in contexts collaborators may hold completely opposite worldviews [21:55]. Tara then describes the case of the Climate Disaster Project, which illustrates how media can be a powerful tool for bridging some of these worldviews and opening up dialogue. Running through the conversation is the positioning of researchers as community organizers. To conclude, Tara reflects on the example of co-creating the Climate Resilience Roadmap in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside [32:27] and wonderful outcomes of leading with practical community needs, instead of theory [37:06]. Closing off the episode, critical hope is shared as an undercurrent and practice for individuals and communities facing some of our most complex societal ailments.

Resources

Community Engaged Research Initiative

Reimagining the Public University in the Poly Crisis:

Critical Hope by Kari Grain

Climate Resilience Roadmap for Non-Profits: From Crisis to Collective Power

Bibliographies

Tara Mahoney has over 15 years of experience in community organizing and a PhD in Communication from Simon Fraser University. Tara has been at the forefront of innovative projects that bridge the gap between academic research and community-driven solutions. As Research and Engagement Manager at SFU’s Community-Engaged Research Initiative (SFU CERi), she oversees the creation and production of SFU CERi's publications and programs. Her research focuses on emerging forms of public engagement and has been published in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, the European Journal of Cultural Studies and she won the CRTC Prize for Excellence in Policy Research in 2019.

Kari Grain is a practitioner-scholar at the intersection of higher education, social justice, and community engagement. She earned her PhD in Education at UBC as a Vanier scholar, where her research focused on local community impacts of international service-learning in Uganda. For the past five years, she has worked as an educational consultant, focusing on experiential education, community-engaged research, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her research has been published in the Journal of Experiential Education, the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, and the Canadian Journal of Studies in Adult Education.

Thank you Tara for sharing your work with us.

Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold.

Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic.

Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us.

--

This episode is part of our Eco-justice and Climate Action Series. Authors from journal articles in a Special Issue of the Canadian Journal for Action Research hop behind the mic and share the inspirations, process, and findings from their projects. Join Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar and special guest host Blane Harvey, as they interview an inspiring group of researchers, educators, organizers, and more, navigating the process of action research.