How “at home” is an ethnographer at home? Territories of knowledge and the making of ethnographic understanding

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to consider "at home ethnography" and "abroad ethnography" not as labels standing for different kinds of fieldwork "out there" but rather as the poles of a continuum identifying the ethnographer's situated, relative and ever changing epistemic status. Design/methodology/approach -Building on data from a recent fieldwork in an intensive care unit, the author identifies the different epistemic circumstances that originate from the entanglement of the multiple territories of knowledge at stake in any ethnography of complex organizations. Findings -The analysis shows how the participants' relative access to knowledge and rights to claim it vary according to the circumstances and the unfolding of the interaction. The discussion advances that the ethnographer oscillates between "being abroad" and "being at home" as if he was constantly moving between the two classical positions of ethnographic work: making the familiar strange as it is typical of ethnographies focusing on the "very 'ordinariness' of normality" (Ybema et al., 2009, p. 2), and making the strange familiar as it is typical of anthropologists studying exotic communities. Originality/value -The paper contributes to the still ongoing debate on "at home" organizational ethnography, by addressing the limits of the "insider doctrine" (Merton, 1972) that still pervades contemporary ethnography and proposes cognitive oscillation as the challenging mindset of any ethnographer-in-the-field.

The impostor syndrome: language barriers in organizational ethnography

“…First, it adds to previous studies arguing that the insider/outsider dichotomy is too simplistic, and represses other forms of difference (Abu-Lughod, 1991), particularly considering increased academic mobility (Gawlewicz, 2016;McAllum, 2018). Further, it supports the idea that at-home ethnography and ethnography abroad are dynamic rather than static positions (Caronia, 2018). Uncovering language as another critical aspect of ethnographies, it nuances the ethnographer's experience and shows that one can be an outsider in her own organization (cf.…”

“…Delucchi, 2018;McAllum, 2018). Some have suggested taking "at home" and "abroad" as poles of a continuum to provide a more accurate picture of the ethnographer's experience in the field, as one oscillates between the two (Caronia, 2018; see also Gosovic, 2018). Organization scholars have extensively discussed at-home ethnography from insider and outsider viewpoints.…”

Entwined Positionality and Interpretive Frames of Reference: An Autoethnographic Account

“…As shown in Figure 1, these positional influences are drawn from the formative context (Unger, 1987) and the researcher's sensory capabilities (Wacquant, 2015), both interacting to produce frames of reference through which observations are interpreted. There are studies which refer to notions such as "home" or "at-home" ethnography (Alvesson, 2009;Malm, 2018;McAllum, 2018;Suarez Delucchi, 2018), cultural hybridity (Brummans & Hwang, 2018), multiple selves or social identities (Cnossen, 2018), fluctuating positionality (Caronia, 2018) and transnational diversity (D'Souza & Pal, 2018). These studies highlight the nuances in the positionality of the researcher, including membership of intellectual traditions and the attendant methodological implications, i.e.…”

Trapped in limbo – Academics' identity negotiation in conditions of perpetual liminality

“…As a quasi-insider, it becomes necessary to establish ways to avoid tunnel vision, ensure reflection and gain a certain distance (Albu and Costas, 2018). In this sense, ethnographers who conduct at-home ethnography, must, like all ethnographers, position themselves on a continuum between “being at home” and “being abroad” (Caronia, 2018). Caronia (2018) refers to this process as “cognitive oscillation” (p. 114), constituting the methodological requirement inherent in all types of ethnographic studies (e.g.…”

“…In this sense, ethnographers who conduct at-home ethnography, must, like all ethnographers, position themselves on a continuum between “being at home” and “being abroad” (Caronia, 2018). Caronia (2018) refers to this process as “cognitive oscillation” (p. 114), constituting the methodological requirement inherent in all types of ethnographic studies (e.g. Hammersley and Atkinson, 2007).…”