journal article
Open Access
Jul 08, 2022
On an ethic of not going there
Abstract
AbstractFieldwork – “going there” – is the presumed norm and baseline of geographical research. In this commentary, I propose a framework for challenging the normative framing of fieldwork in geography and other fields (including those beyond academia): an ethic of not going there. I argue that fieldwork, rather than a neutral rite of passage, is deeply entwined with some of the most entrenched issues in contemporary geography and research more broadly. Building on a range of prior critiques and using the lens of “access”, I propose some ways for critiquing the presumptions inherent in geographical imaginaries of “fieldwork”. This ethical framework argues that doing geographical fieldwork should have to be justified to the same extent as not doing fieldwork is expected to be justified. I envision an ethic of not (always) going there as an alternative way of thinking about research (and researchers) within and beyond geography.
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Metrics
25
Citations
53
References
Details
- Published
- Jul 08, 2022
- Vol/Issue
- 188(3)
- Pages
- 468-475
- License
- View
Funding
Gates Cambridge Trust
Cite This Article
Anna Guasco (2022). On an ethic of not going there. The Geographical Journal, 188(3), 468-475. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12462
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