Cultivating Activism in the Academy: A Deleuzoguattarian Exploration of Phenomenological Projects

A Phenomenology Collective
Caleb Zilmer, Western Washington Unviersity

Abstract

Phenomenology, as the study of the human experience of, with, and in the world, has long rejected causality in favor of the personal agency of intentionality. Our Collective began by trying to conduct phenomenological research in an era in which we have witnessed the normalization of oppression, marginalization, and social injustice. We question how we, the 1% to 2% who hold or seek doctorates, might interrogate the intolerance of alterity. To inform our collective inquiry, we have formed a Deleuzoguattarian “pack.” Using mixed metaphors, we argue for epistemo-ontological activisim through putting theory and philosophy to work in the world.