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@ -54,12 +54,12 @@ As Christian Salmon aptly noted, “Modern ’storytelling’ practices are not
This was also an experiment in glitching the model of public talk that is predominant in cultural, artistic, and academic spheres alike, while at the same time offering some scaffolding to hold space for meaningful conversations to take place even in the short span of a self-contained event (however hosted by milieus traversed by long-standing relations). The stories selected for the bonfires referred to different modes of lying, cheating, and stealing that reflect a spectrum of class positions, from undocumented migrants to unemployed folks, from benefit recipients to exhausted workers. Given the predominant discourse that pushes subjectivities in identifying with a glorified hustle culture of endless productivity, the discussion of cheating techniques across class lines reveals a potential for solidarity based on strategies of refusal of labour, of exclusion, and of humiliation. This was also an experiment in glitching the model of public talk that is predominant in cultural, artistic, and academic spheres alike, while at the same time offering some scaffolding to hold space for meaningful conversations to take place even in the short span of a self-contained event (however hosted by milieus traversed by long-standing relations). The stories selected for the bonfires referred to different modes of lying, cheating, and stealing that reflect a spectrum of class positions, from undocumented migrants to unemployed folks, from benefit recipients to exhausted workers. Given the predominant discourse that pushes subjectivities in identifying with a glorified hustle culture of endless productivity, the discussion of cheating techniques across class lines reveals a potential for solidarity based on strategies of refusal of labour, of exclusion, and of humiliation.
![](static/images/figure_it_out.jpg)
Moreover, given the criminalized, transgressive, or quasi-illegal nature of many of the strategies taught by the FIO stories, we wanted to avoid putting contributors in a confessional mode. We are aware that stigma and personal shame can be associated with such survival techniques, as not everyone sees them as a reflection of a capacity for resistance against systemic failures. The invitation to read others’ stories therefore functioned as a simple dispositive to enact, collectively, a minor ethical gesture: by lending others’ voices to those stories that the protagonists cannot or should not be telling in the first person, we wished to open up a space for positioned listeners and re-tellers to perform an act of entrustment and custodianship of such knowledges. Moreover, given the criminalized, transgressive, or quasi-illegal nature of many of the strategies taught by the FIO stories, we wanted to avoid putting contributors in a confessional mode. We are aware that stigma and personal shame can be associated with such survival techniques, as not everyone sees them as a reflection of a capacity for resistance against systemic failures. The invitation to read others’ stories therefore functioned as a simple dispositive to enact, collectively, a minor ethical gesture: by lending others’ voices to those stories that the protagonists cannot or should not be telling in the first person, we wished to open up a space for positioned listeners and re-tellers to perform an act of entrustment and custodianship of such knowledges.
A final po-ethic dispositive that was key in shaping the bonfire storytellings has been the laughter. Henri Bergson’s seminal work on laughter saw it as a mechanism for making a space of collectivity “[o]ur laughter is always the laughter of a group”. Moreover, he proposed that it serves as a social corrective, a means of revealing the absurdity of hierarchical and strict social structures.[^14] In our context, laughter operates not merely as a response but as an active engagement with power dynamics, embodying a subversive pleasure in exposing and circumventing systemic injustices. While Bergson viewed laughter as a collective social corrective, Franco Berardi’s reflections on cynicism and irony suggest another layer to this dynamic: Neither the cynic nor the ironist “believes in the true foundation of law,” yet each navigates this disbelief differently: “the cynical person bends to the law while mocking its false and pretentious values, while the ironic person escapes the law altogether, creating a linguistic space where law has no effectiveness.”[^15] If the whys behind the anecdotes are often tragic as they reveal the systemic injustices that shape impossible conditions of living, the hows often evoke a giggle that positions the participants vis-a-vis power structures: the affect of joy felt when hearing about a way to escape an unjust system reveals lines of partisanship that might not even be known to those laughing before the event. Such moments of shared chuckles during storytelling undermined the isolating effects that the power structures have on acts usually performed in secret and deemed illegal. A final po-ethic dispositive that was key in shaping the bonfire storytellings has been the laughter. Henri Bergson’s seminal work on laughter saw it as a mechanism for making a space of collectivity “[o]ur laughter is always the laughter of a group”. Moreover, he proposed that it serves as a social corrective, a means of revealing the absurdity of hierarchical and strict social structures.[^14] In our context, laughter operates not merely as a response but as an active engagement with power dynamics, embodying a subversive pleasure in exposing and circumventing systemic injustices. While Bergson viewed laughter as a collective social corrective, Franco Berardi’s reflections on cynicism and irony suggest another layer to this dynamic: Neither the cynic nor the ironist “believes in the true foundation of law,” yet each navigates this disbelief differently: “the cynical person bends to the law while mocking its false and pretentious values, while the ironic person escapes the law altogether, creating a linguistic space where law has no effectiveness.”[^15] If the whys behind the anecdotes are often tragic as they reveal the systemic injustices that shape impossible conditions of living, the hows often evoke a giggle that positions the participants vis-a-vis power structures: the affect of joy felt when hearing about a way to escape an unjust system reveals lines of partisanship that might not even be known to those laughing before the event. Such moments of shared chuckles during storytelling undermined the isolating effects that the power structures have on acts usually performed in secret and deemed illegal.
![](static/images/through_the_fingers.jpg)
## Ethics of refusal ## Ethics of refusal
@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ The practice of ethnographic refusal presented us with a powerful toolbox to ori
A strategy of refusal starts with an exhortation to move the focus of research away from individuals and communities positioned as "social problems" and towards institutions and power structures. By examining policies, practices, and historical forces that create and maintain inequality, ethnographic refusal aims to disrupt the cycle of objectification and exploitation inherent in traditional research. Predominant research approaches often focus on "pain and humiliation," commodifying these narratives for authorial gain while failing to offer substantial benefits to those around which the study is centered. This demand for "pain stories" perpetuates harmful power dynamics, turning research into a form of "inquiry as invasion." Furthermore, the pursuit of objectivity, often driven by those in power, can obscure the ethical implications of research and further stigmatize the subjects of the study. In this sense, in FIO we sought to challenge this paradigm by acknowledging the inherent power imbalances in the relationships that underpin the sharing of the stories. Moreover, proponents of ethnographic refusal highlight the importance of recognizing and honoring refusals from participants, for example by respecting instances where research participants choose to withhold information or decline to engage with certain lines of inquiry. These refusals, often communicated through coded language or silence, represent an assertion of sovereignty over knowledge and experience. Thus, we strive to understand and interpret these acts of resistance, even if it means limiting the scope of our inquiry and interactions. A strategy of refusal starts with an exhortation to move the focus of research away from individuals and communities positioned as "social problems" and towards institutions and power structures. By examining policies, practices, and historical forces that create and maintain inequality, ethnographic refusal aims to disrupt the cycle of objectification and exploitation inherent in traditional research. Predominant research approaches often focus on "pain and humiliation," commodifying these narratives for authorial gain while failing to offer substantial benefits to those around which the study is centered. This demand for "pain stories" perpetuates harmful power dynamics, turning research into a form of "inquiry as invasion." Furthermore, the pursuit of objectivity, often driven by those in power, can obscure the ethical implications of research and further stigmatize the subjects of the study. In this sense, in FIO we sought to challenge this paradigm by acknowledging the inherent power imbalances in the relationships that underpin the sharing of the stories. Moreover, proponents of ethnographic refusal highlight the importance of recognizing and honoring refusals from participants, for example by respecting instances where research participants choose to withhold information or decline to engage with certain lines of inquiry. These refusals, often communicated through coded language or silence, represent an assertion of sovereignty over knowledge and experience. Thus, we strive to understand and interpret these acts of resistance, even if it means limiting the scope of our inquiry and interactions.
![](static/images/through_the_fingers.jpg)
By implementing these strategies and remaining attentive to the ethical and political dimensions of our research, tracing the stories in the e-zine has made use of two approaches. The first is the inclusion of a note specifying the context in which the story was first encountered. This process wants to draw attention to the relational conditions of the telling and of the retelling. By implementing these strategies and remaining attentive to the ethical and political dimensions of our research, tracing the stories in the e-zine has made use of two approaches. The first is the inclusion of a note specifying the context in which the story was first encountered. This process wants to draw attention to the relational conditions of the telling and of the retelling.
The second dispositive was inspired by "blackout poetry," a technique that involves taking a page of preexisting text (typically a few pages from a newspaper, book, or any other printed source) and blacking out with a black or otherwise dark color most of the words, leaving only a select few words or sentences that create a new meaning when read in order. This approach uses the redaction of the stories as a way to mask sensitive information and make them unavailable for access while at the same time allowing readers to remain aware of their presence and importance. The second dispositive was inspired by "blackout poetry," a technique that involves taking a page of preexisting text (typically a few pages from a newspaper, book, or any other printed source) and blacking out with a black or otherwise dark color most of the words, leaving only a select few words or sentences that create a new meaning when read in order. This approach uses the redaction of the stories as a way to mask sensitive information and make them unavailable for access while at the same time allowing readers to remain aware of their presence and importance.