Unpacking Fieldwork in Challenging Settings (3)

After addressing power relations and gender, we will now focus on three topics that are of paramount importance to all fieldworkers: ethics, researchers’ well-being and security during fieldwork. As you all know, the seminars are online due to the pandemic, but fear not! We will keep the cosy and safe environment we had in our first seminar in 2020.

We are delighted to have Magda Mogilnicka and Lydia Medland as our guest participants.

Magda Mogilnicka: Her PhD thesis investigated everyday encounters with difference of post-accession Polish citizens living in Britain. Based on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork combined with in-depth interviews, her research explored the complexities of Poles’ everyday practices with cultural others that reflect their understandings of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in the British context.

Lydia Medland: Her PhD research focused on the precarious work of tomato-pickers in the context of a hub (or enclave) of global food production in the south of Morocco.

Karina Garcia will moderate the discussion. Her dissertation entitled ‘Poverty, gender and violence in the narratives of former narcos: Accounting for Drug Trafficking Violence in Mexico’ investigated how 33 former narcos understood their involvement in violent practices linked to drug trafficking such as kidnapping, torture and murder.

Format:

2.00-2.05 Introductions

2.05-2.15 Lydia and Magda introduce the seminar

2.15-3.00 Questions and discussion

3.00-3.20 Discussion in breakout rooms

3.20-3.30 Conclusion

Important: this seminar is an open forum where participants are encouraged to bring their experiences, observations and questions.

In this seminar, we will discuss issues focusing on, but not limiting to:

• Ethics forms: how to navigate the ethics committee?

• Ethics in fieldwork: what are your own ethical boundaries vis a vis formal ethical requirement?

• Researchers’ emotions and well-being before, during and after fieldwork.

• Participants’ physical and emotional wellbeing: what are the limits of research?

• Safety during fieldwork: how to prepare for unforeseen circumstances?

• What not to do? Our guests and moderator will share the lessons they learnt during their research process, so hopefully you do not have to go through the same.

Joining details: Registered participants will be sent Zoom meeting details before the event. For more information on the event and how you can register, please visit the Eventbrite registration link here.

FYI: we are working on an all-new unique and engaging website so that we can continue the discussions beyond the seminars in the form of coffee discussions, reading groups, blogs and forum chats. For more updates on Unpacking Fieldwork, please follow us on Twitter here.