Fieldwork in the context of Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally reshaped ethnographic research, forcing scholars to reconsider fieldwork methods, ethics, and institutional responsibilities.
Fear of/in the Ethnography
Tarek Younis reflects on the affective and ethical challenges of conducting ethnographic research on the UK’s Prevent counter-radicalisation duty within the NHS.
Ethnographic Ableism: Structural Silencing of Physical Disability in Anthropological Research
Micha Rahder critiques “ethnographic ableism,” the structural exclusion and silencing of researchers with disabilities in anthropology.
Emotions of Friendship: The Psychological Challenges of Doing Fieldwork in Xinjiang
In this article, Lisa Ernst examines the overlooked psychological toll of “friendship as method” within ethnography, specifically during high-risk fieldwork in Xinjiang, China.
Elective Affinities: Fragility and Injustice in the Field
Luisa Enria reflects on profoundly sensitive experiences of fragility, power and reflexivity in the context of her long term ethnographic fieldwork in Sierra Leone.
Dis/ability to do Fieldwork
In this article, Rine Vieth critiques the “Malinowskian” ideal of fieldwork, which prizes able-bodied endurance and long-term isolation as markers of professional authority.
Competitive Hardship: ethnographic guilt and early-career pressure to conduct ‘authentic’ fieldwork
Jennifer Cearns examines the persistent influence of the “Malinowskian” model of fieldwork on early-career anthropologists, arguing that traditional expectations of isolation and immersion create unnecessary guilt and anxiety in contemporary settings.
Access and Agency of Women Ethnographers in Technical Leisure Cultures
Based on eighteen months of participant observation in US gaming and live-action role-play communities, the piece examines how women ethnographers navigate access, safety, and credibility within male-dominated technical leisure cultures.
‘Friendnography’ and the ethical questions it raises
Of all the hundreds of photos on my old phone, there was only one that I absolutely had to get