Feeling rules and emotion work in geomorphology fieldwork

Abstract

Geography’s fieldwork culture has been subject to much scrutiny in recent decades. With roots in colonial exploration and shaped by Enlightenment ideals of reason and rationality, the presence of emotion in physical geography fieldwork has remained invisible, unspoken. This article draws on geomorphologists’ fieldwork stories, accessed via questionnaire and interviews, to provide insight into the emotion work involved in collaborative fieldwork, depicted here through a career/life-course chronology. This in turn enables articulation of the ‘feeling rules’ of geomorphology fieldwork; implicit, unwritten expectations of ‘how to be’ a field geomorphologist. Acknowledging that fieldwork is a positive aspect of the discipline for many, the article provides insight into the ways that the burdens of fieldwork may shift throughout a career and considers the implications for creating more inclusive field environments.