{"id":2922,"date":"2021-08-24T13:09:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T12:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/?p=2922"},"modified":"2021-08-24T13:10:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T12:10:47","slug":"call-for-book-chapters-decolonizing-fieldwork-a-practical-guide-for-the-humanities-and-social-sciences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/?p=2922","title":{"rendered":"Call for book chapters- Decolonizing Fieldwork: A Practical Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Decolonizing Fieldwork: A Practical Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences <\/b><\/h2>\n

Editors: Kira Jumet (Hamilton College) and Merouan Mekouar (York University)\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

In January 2016, the brutal killing of Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University student\u00a0 who was conducting fieldwork in Cairo, Egypt, marked a turning point for Western scholars working on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The abduction, torture, and\u00a0 subsequent death of the young graduate student shook the academic community focusing on\u00a0 that area of the world and reminded many more of the numerous difficulties faced by researchers\u00a0 conducting fieldwork in authoritarian settings. Since then, a number of new publications have\u00a0 sought to examine the challenges faced by social scientists conducting research in the MENA\u00a0 region (Bank and Busse (2021), Krause and Szekely (2020), Clark and Cavatorta (2018), among\u00a0 others) as well as other non-democratic regions such as Central Asia (Janenova 2019, Driscoll\u00a0 2021), parts of the Caribbean (Bell 2013), parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (Laher, Fynn and Kramer\u00a0 2019), Eastern Europe and Russia (Goode 2010, 2016), and East Asia (Reny 2016, Wang 2019).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, while these contributions addressed and theorized about the important challenges faced by Western academics conducting research under authoritarian regimes (Glasius et al.\u00a0 2018, Grimm et al. 2020), they largely failed to examine the distinct difficulties confronted by\u00a0 native scholars, such as Chinese Uyghur historian <\/span>Iminjan Seydin, who was disappeared and sent<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>to a government work program (Yang 2020), and <\/span>Walid al-Shobky, an Egyptian graduate student\u00a0 disappeared after conducting a research interview and later accused of \u201cspreading false news\u00a0 and joining a terrorist group\u201d (Mada Masr 2018). Thus, while native academics face many of the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

challenges highlighted in existing publications (i.e., surveillance, ethical questions related to\u00a0 research involving vulnerable populations, access to informants, personal safety, and data\u00a0 security), they also face additional risks and distinct obstacles, the discussion of which has been\u00a0 consistently absent in the literature. These challenges include governmental pressure on friends\u00a0 and family, legal threats from local authorities, questionable access to consular assistance for\u00a0 dual nationals, influence of ascribed characteristics on social interactions, and exploitation by\u00a0 Western colleagues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposed manuscript seeks to address this important gap in the literature. The first section\u00a0 will present testimonies from scholars who conducted fieldwork in their native repressive\u00a0 countries and who faced sets of challenges directly related to their position as native scholars.\u00a0 These researchers will share their personal experiences in the field, the material and\u00a0 psychological hurdles they faced while conducting research in a difficult environment and the\u00a0 specific strategies they developed to address these challenges. The various contributions will\u00a0 examine cases in some of the world\u2019s most repressive countries, such as Algeria, Iran, Egypt,\u00a0 China, Russia, and Cuba.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second section will build on the contributions collected in the first to offer practical advice\u00a0 to academics committed to conducting fieldwork in their native non-democratic states. The\u00a0 practical handbook will help graduate students, early-career researchers, and established\u00a0 scholars develop suitable research designs before engaging in their fieldwork, while also offering\u00a0 practicable coping strategies for their time in the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main goals and guiding questions:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

By bringing together contributions from a wide range of native academics familiar with difficult environments, the book will answer the following questions:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • What are the specific risks and challenges that native scholars experience while\u00a0 conducting fieldwork in repressive countries?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What strategies have these scholars developed to address the specific risks they\u00a0 encounter in their work?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What specific lessons can be drawn for research-design and fieldwork? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Contributions and Themes:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

    We are seeking native (or dual national) contributors from states characterized as repressive or\u00a0 authoritarian (e.g., rated Not Free or Partly Free by Freedom House) willing to write empirical\u00a0 and\/or analytical pieces about the challenges they faced while conducting fieldwork in their\u00a0 home country. The contributions should fit within one of the following themes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    1- Weight of family history\/ethnic identity\/religious identity<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    While Western colleagues often experience the burden of various identity markers such as\u00a0 family histories, ethnic identities, and religious affiliations, these markers often take on\u00a0 oversized importance in the cases of native scholars conducting fieldwork in their home\u00a0 countries. In particular, they may face more resistance when conducting research among\u00a0 wary compatriots who regard them with suspicion, or even hostility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    2- Gender identity\/sexual orientation.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    Gender identity and sexual orientation can be a challenge for academics conducting research\u00a0 in any setting. However, native scholars working in illiberal settings cannot benefit from the\u00a0 relative tolerance extended to foreigners and must scrupulously adhere to local cultural\u00a0 norms and laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    3- Legal and penal threats to native scholars (including banning and purging) <\/span><\/i>The arrests of Alexander Sodiqov in Tajikistan in 2014 and Fariba Adelkhah in Iran in 2019\u00a0 illustrate the dangers that native academics experience when conducting fieldwork in non democratic settings. However, while these two cases have received some coverage, many\u00a0 other jailed academics such as Moroccan historian Dr. Maati Monjib, regularly detained in his\u00a0 home country, or Dr. Konstantin Syroyezhkin, a Kazakh academic jailed for 10 years and\u00a0 stripped of his citizenship in 2019 (Radio Free Europe 2019), have received comparatively\u00a0 little attention from international media outlets or even academic circles. In addition to legal\u00a0 risks, native scholars, many of whom work in universities where job security is contingent on\u00a0 the ruling regime\u2019s approval, also face significant professional risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    4- Risks to friends and families of native scholars.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    In addition to the risks outlined above, the families of native academics critical of their repressive governments have been targeted by those governments. In some cases, the\u00a0 partners, parents, or friends of native researchers have experienced harassment or threats, suffered house raids without a warrant, incurred travel bans, or been arrested.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    5- Exploitation by foreign scholars and foreign agents<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Many native scholars are approached over the course of their research with the expectation\u00a0 that they will provide various services to their non-native colleagues (e.g., contacts). These\u00a0 solicitations often carry material and\/or psychological costs, and the contributions of native\u00a0 scholars are often only superficially recognized, if acknowledged at all. Moreover, native\u00a0 scholars may also be approached by a range of foreign actors whose goals and interests are\u00a0 not always clear. These foreign actors can include embassy personnel, nongovernmental\u00a0 organizations (NGOs), and members of intelligence services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Contributions should be 5000 to 7000 words in length (including bibliographies) and should\u00a0 follow a Chicago citation style. Interested contributors are invited to send a 250-400 word\u00a0 abstract to mmekouar@yorku.ca and kjumet@hamilton.edu and indicate which dominant\u00a0 theme they would like to address in their contribution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Bibliography\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

    Akerman, James R. 2017. <\/span>Decolonizing the Map: Cartography from Colony to Nation. <\/span><\/i>Chicago:\u00a0 University of Chicago Press.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Azadovskii, Konstantin, and Boris Egorov. 2002. “From Anti-Westernism to Anti-Semitism: Stalin\u00a0 and the Impact of the \u201cAnti-Cosmopolitan\u201d Campaigns on Soviet Culture.” <\/span>Journal of\u00a0 Cold War Studies <\/span><\/i>4 (1): 66-80.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Bank, Andr\u00e9, and Jan Busse. 2021. “MENA Political Science Research a Decade after the Arab\u00a0 Uprisings: Facing the Facts on Tremulous Grounds.” <\/span>Mediterranean Politics <\/span><\/i>1\u201324. Bell, Karen. 2013. “Doing Qualitative Fieldwork in Cuba: Social Research in Politically Sensitive\u00a0 Locations.” <\/span>International Journal of Social Research Methodology <\/span><\/i>16 (2): 109-124. Clark, Janine A., and Francesco Cavatorta, . 2018. <\/span>Political Science Research in the Middle East\u00a0 and North Africa: Methodological and Ethical Challenges. <\/span><\/i>New York: Oxford University\u00a0 Press.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Clibbon, Jennifer. 2014. “Alexander Sodiqov, University of Toronto researcher, being detained\u00a0 in Tajikistan.” <\/span>CBC<\/span><\/i>, July 17.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Driscoll, Jesse. 2021. <\/span>Doing Global Fieldwork: A Social Scientist\u2019s Guide to Mixed-Methods\u00a0 Research Far from Home. <\/span><\/i>New York: Columbia University Press.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Goode, Paul J. 2016. “Eyes Wide Shut: Democratic Reversals, Scientific Closure, and the Study of\u00a0 Politics in Eurasia*: Eyes Wide Shut.” <\/span>Social Science Quarterly <\/span><\/i>97 (4): 876\u201393.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u2014\u2014\u2014. 2010. “Redefining Russia: Hybrid Regimes, Fieldwork, and Russian Politics.” <\/span>Perspectives\u00a0 on Politics <\/span><\/i>8 (4): 1055\u201375.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Grimm, Janis, Kevin Koehler, Ellen Lust, Ilyas Saliba, and Isabell Schierenbeck. 2020. <\/span>Safer Field\u00a0 Research in the Social Sciences: A Guide to Human and Digital Security in Hostile\u00a0 Environments. <\/span><\/i>1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Janenova, Saltanat. 2019. “The Boundaries of Research in an Authoritarian State.” <\/span>International\u00a0 Journal of Qualitative Methods.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    Kraus, Peter, and Ora Szekely, . 2020. <\/span>Stories from the Field: A Guide to Navigating Fieldwork in\u00a0 Political Science. <\/span><\/i>New York: Columbia University Press.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Laher, Sumaya, Angelo Fynn, and Sherianne Kramer, . 2019. <\/span>Transforming Research Methods in\u00a0 the Social Sciences: Case Studies from South Africa. <\/span><\/i>Johannesburg: Wits University Press. Mada Masr. 2018. “University of Washington PhD student, missing for 4 days, brought before\u00a0 prosecution and detained.” <\/span>Mada Masr<\/span><\/i>, May 28.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Reny, Marie-Eve. 2016. “Authoritarianism as a Research Constraint: Political Scientists in\u00a0 China*: Authoritarianism as a Research Constraint.” <\/span>Social Science Quarterly <\/span><\/i>97 (4): 909\u2013 22.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Wang, Zhen. 2019. <\/span>Conducting Fieldwork and Interviews: Researching China\u2019s Performance\u00a0 Evaluation System. <\/span><\/i>London: SAGE Publications Ltd.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Decolonizing Fieldwork: A Practical Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences Editors: Kira Jumet (Hamilton College) and Merouan Mekouar (York University)\u00a0 In January 2016, the brutal killing of Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University student\u00a0 who was conducting fieldwork in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","category-cfps-events"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2922"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2924,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2922\/revisions\/2924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/francophone.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}