TOUCHING BORDERS / TOCAR LAS FRONTERAS (WORKSHOP)

Fieldwork implies bodily presence of the researcher at the site of research. The processes and experiences of conducting fieldwork therefore are not only about satisfying the objectives of research questions. But fieldwork is also about exploring the epistemological issues that emerge from questions of affect, personal reflection, and interpersonal connections. Among myriad themes, from those involving traumatic experiences or experiential accounts of the research participants to those that directly concern our research questions, sensitivity to the embodied nature of fieldwork can provide valuable research insights. This exhibition/workshop is aimed primarily at researchers with initial experiences in the field, although it may be helpful for more experienced researchers. Participants will share their experiences of coherence and rupture and in order to build a dialogue surrounding the theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues that arise in their research. Based on ethnographic vignettes from fieldwork experiences of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, we will construct an open reflection on methods and modes of engagement around notions such as the event, improvisation or fracture of the research script, confusion, and embodiment as an epistemological tool for interrogating the ethics of fieldwork in the context of migration and borders.