Paper
Navigating as an anthropologist in the field
presenters
JENNY JAMI
Nationality: India
Residence: India
Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi
Presence:Online
Keywords:
Field, fieldwork, ethnography
Abstract:
An anthropologist’s road to systematic inquiry involves fieldwork as a prerequisite tool. Since the foundational beginnings of the discipline, fieldwork has served as the method through which anthropological studies were initiated and carried forward. Fieldwork, as fascinating as it is or as exotic as it may sound, especially to those who are yet to partake in the activity, is by any means not all flowers and roses; on the contrary, there are many challenges and obstacles that one may have to navigate as a fieldworker. Also, just as the context of fieldwork varies from researcher to researcher, our experiences in the field may also vary depending on the many factors through which we may need to negotiate in the fieldwork process. In this paper, I narrate some of my experiences as an anthropologist in the field, with the objective that such discussions may foster a shared understanding of the field and the changing nature of our experiences in the field.