Fieldwork within one’s own community is never a straightforward process of “insider” privilege. It requires navigating complex relationships, ethical dilemmas, and personal uncertainties. My time in Pratapgarh revealed that shared identity can facilitate entry, but sustained trust emerges only through patience, presence, and humility.
In Between Spaces: Belonging Among the New and the Known Read More »
Fieldwork taught me that being a researcher is not about authority—it is about empathy, negotiation, and humility. It is about showing up even when you feel uncomfortable, about listening when you feel implicated, and about letting go of the illusion of objectivity to embrace the messiness of reality.
Identity, Access, and Becoming in the Gorkhaland Movement Read More »
I believe access and positionality were not static components during my fieldwork, but they were constantly evolving and entangled processes that shaped knowledge production during the research. The hesitations from the individuals, the restrictions set by the school and the gatekeeping from the state or authorities all had very different meanings and reasons behind them.
Navigating Access and Positionality During Fieldwork in a Government Girls’ School Read More »
Cecelia Busby (2000) in her book mentions that she booked tickets for home and left. It was during this time before she returned to the field that she came across Malinowski’s (1989) diary, which she recommends to everyone working in a ‘field’. In my doctoral research, I practice ethnography to understand the fish economy in the Andaman Islands. I rely on participant observation using the lens of political economy and economic anthropology to understand the making of a fish economy.
Practicing ethnography – what they don’t tell us Read More »
Research is more than an intellectual pursuit—it is a responsibility. A responsibility to honor the trust placed in us, to give back in ways that uplift and empower. It demands that we not only generate knowledge but also ensure that knowledge catalyzes real, tangible improvements in the lives of those who share their experiences with us.
Beyond Data and Reports: The Researcher’s Journey of Hope and Responsibility Read More »
Since Assamese is the medium of instruction of the school, the students mostly spoke in Assamese regardless of their mother tongue. My own command over the language eventually enabled me to build rapport with the students while simultaneously being aware of the regional variations and variety in dialects in conversations.
Of Conundrums and Dilemmas: Fieldwork Reflections from a School Read More »
The embodied experiences of being a queer researcher highlighted the threads that tie vulnerabilities to belongingness during fieldwork. Throughout my fieldwork, my queer identity became both a bridge and a barrier. On the one hand, it empowered deep connections with interlocutors, allowing us to share stories of alienation, longing, and companionship that emerged from our collective experiences as queer individuals.
Being in the Field: Gendered Embodiment, Vulnerability, and Belonging Read More »
It is through the concept of reflexive sociology that I make sense of the way my identity became a free-floating entity and, in fact, shaped my access and understanding of the elite world. In such a scenario, identity stops being a static point of singularity but a flowing space capable of shifts and switches. Reflexivity becomes a heuristic tool for conducting fieldwork and analysis later.
Accessing the Elite World: Managing Identities at an Elite School Read More »
What this article tries to assert is that CSE aspirants in Karol Bagh and Rajinder Nagar are not just competitors in an exam with unrealistically low rates of success which makes them go through frustration and anxiety, rather, perhaps because of the nature of the exam, what its syllabus entails, and what they aspire to become in future, they have somehow collectively become active agents of change in the region, who collectively possess an agency and who’s voices are not left unheard.
Some of the best insights come while walking through a field, sharing a meal, or simply observing how someone reacts to a question. Keep your senses open. And one more thing—smile, often and sincerely. It’s amazing how far a genuine smile can go in bridging language and cultural gaps.
Stories Beyond Surveys: My Post-COVID Research Experience in Rural Punjab Read More »
