From ethnographic ‘self’-discovery to processes of identification

Abstract

Descriptions of the research experience are vital to ethnography and have often been mediated through the writings about the researcher 'self'. Consequently, the concept of self has taken up a central position in literature on ethnographic work. In order to renew the discussion on the ethnographic researcher position, I intend to explore further what status is given to such descriptions and notions of self. In this article I analyse how researcher identity claims were made through the practice of ethnographic description drawn from field notes produced during a study of a Swedish workplace. Building on the results of the analysis, I suggest that the ethnographic researcher will not be able to discover her self in the process of research. Rather, I argue, researcher identity is constructed in ethnographic research practice where the researcher goes into processes of identification.

Revelatory moments in fieldwork

“…This collection emerges from a panel titled Revelatory Moments of Fieldwork Engagement held at the 2010 meeting of the Australian Anthropological Society. 1 In framing the panel, and eliciting the subsequent development of articles, the editors were drawn to the idea that revelatory moments in ethnographic fieldwork are experiences that may be productive of more than a particular set of data (Landén, 2011; Shweder, 1997; Tsing, 1993; West, 2005). Certain aspects of fieldwork enable understanding of society and culture through the researcher’s apprehension of their own subjectivity, as they negotiate what can be intense and transformative entanglements with the people and settings of the study.…”

Questioning identities/shifting identities: the impact of researching sex and gender on a researcher’s LGBT+ identity

“…Through hearing the diversity of stories and experiences of people who were like me/not like me, I saw a variety of opportunities, experiences and feelings that I had never had the time to consider in such depth before. Landen commented on the way in which their identity was often built in response or in relationships with other participants in an ethnographic study (Landén, 2011). Although Landen did not suggest a lifelong identity change based on personal identities like gender or sexuality, their suggestion of a relational negotiation and influence of identity fits in with my experience of conducting fieldwork.…”

Latinx Authorship and Representation in Digital Spaces: Wikipedia as a Tool to Decolonize the HSI Classroom

“…Just as the identities of those we study are important, so too are our identities and backgrounds as it may influence our positionality in the research process, as others have suggested (Couture et al, 2012;Day, 2012;Landen, 2011;McCorkel & Myers, 2003;Ramirez, 2014;Razon & Ross, 2012). Author 2 identifies as a working-class academic female who holds a Finally, our roles as instructors for our respective classes in which we adopted the Wikipedia assignment bears some discussion.…”