Is there an ‘I’ in (embodied) research?

As a survivor of sexualized abuse, I do research on the topic of sexualized abuse in Christian contexts. I take my body, with her stories and experiences, into the field to meet other bodies with their stories and experiences. For this presentation, I am inspired by the work of Adriaan van Klinken, who has interlaced his description of fieldwork with personal interludes in which he reflects on personal experiences of researching and writing (Van Klinken 2019). Taking examples from the work of Nina Hoel and Adriaan van Klinken, in this presentation I explore both reasons and ways to bring the ‘I’ in (embodied) research to the fore. Interlacing this methodological discussion, there will be several interludes in which I dive deeper into my own lived experience which I bring to the field. With words and visual artwork, I convey my own positionality and my embodied involvement in creative ways.