More Than a Course, More Than a Method: Study Circles as a Pedagogical and Research Method Working With Asylum Seekers Across Language Barriers and Differences

ABSTRACT Participatory research with people in the asylum process faces limits and challenges. Building on ethnographic research on study circles for and with asylum seekers in Sweden, I discuss two methods (collage workshops and card‐based discussions) which were introduced to deal with the challenges of conducting participatory research and to foster the inclusion of participants in the asylum process. While collage workshops allowed for conversations on emotional and embodied experiences across language barriers, card‐based discussions created space for dialogue and discussion on different experiences of participating in study circles. I argue that these methods were both inspired by the study circle method and participatory methodologies and, therefore, are an example of how research' epistemology and methodology can be aligned to participating organisations' knowledge and practices. Consequently, the contribution of the paper is two‐fold: Collage workshops and card‐based discussions not only allowed for new participants and perspectives to be included but also enabled the research to intervene in and contribute to the study circle practice.