What can we learn from a ‘liar’ and a ‘madman’? Serendipity and double commitment during fieldwork

Abstract

What can we learn from a 'liar' and a 'madman'? Serendipity and double commitment during fieldworkIn order to do my PhD fieldwork among undocumented migrants in a detention centre, I had to become a volunteer for an NGO providing legal assistance. In this paper I examine the effect of this double commitment through the study of two figures: a 'liar' and a 'madman'. I question the grounds upon which field anthropological practice is based, namely, the ideas of long-term fieldwork and serendipity. I hypothesise that anthropological knowledge is constructed in the successive oscillations between various positions and points of view on the field and not in the quest for the right distance from the subject under scrutiny.

The absent presence of the deportation apparatus: methodological challenges in the production of knowledge on immigration detention

“…While negotiating a research permit to the sites of migration governance requires considerable effort (Bosworth and Kellezi 2017; Esposito 2017; Lindberg and Borelli 2019; Rozakou 2019) and can be dependent on voluntary work (Hasselberg 2016), legal assistance (Le Courant 2013) or luck (Kalir 2019), getting access is only the first step. Notwithstanding restrictions in conducting research, fieldwork inside immigration detention can even produce diverging interpretations, depending on the methodological choices, research questions, circumstantial factors, timing and length of the fieldwork, and the case selection.…”

“…In interviews, respondents often shade their responses to present a positive picture of themselves, leaving out unfavourable issues (Weiss 1994: 147–50). Moreover, detainees in desperate situations may hope that researchers will provide assistance or generate publicity for their immigration cases (Bosworth and Kellezi 2017) and therefore present their situations in a light intended to arouse empathy or provide strategically manipulated accounts (Le Courant 2013). Detainees may also invoke narratives of arbitrary detention to keep up their fading hopes of release despite having an enforceable removal decision.…”

‘How did you get in?’ Research access and sovereign power during the ‘migration crisis’ in Greece

“…Migration governance sites are far from public eyes and ears, let alone those of researchers (Bosworth and Kellezi ; Peutz : 219). Dealing with the problem of access, researchers have opted for voluntary work with NGOs (Albahari ; Le Courant ; Hasselberg : 13–18) or visits with members of the parliament (Griffiths : 1992). However, it is usually only in the footnotes (see, for example, Heyman : 265–6; Hoag : 424) that one reads about fieldwork, with little if any reference to research access itself.…”

Field Notes for Amateurs

“…The 'neo-liberal university' has been variously described using metaphors of war ('under siege') and protracted conflict ('occupation'), and depicted as market-driven, rife with intensified competition, individualistic and career focused, and endlessly audited and monitored, that is, a place in which practices of sharing and openness are exceedingly difficult (cf. Dalsgaard 2013;Giabiconi 2013;Graeber 2014;Le Courant 2013;Rivoal and Salazar 2013). 1 The term 'neo-liberal' is, however, controversial (cf.…”