A Self-reflexive Positionality to Navigate the Invective Latency of Ethnographic Relations
Insights From Lebanon and Germany
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18949019 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Irene Tuzi (0000-0002-6153-7667, Technische Universität Dresden, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 8-9 |
| Pages | 705-712 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Qualitative Inquiry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1077-8004 • E-ISSN: 1552-7565 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10778004231193764 |
| OpenAlex | W4386096080 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 26 |
Positionality has become increasingly important in ethnographic and autoethnographic research. The recent “reflexive turn” in migration studies has encouraged scholars to discuss the concept from different perspectives (e.g., gender, ethnicity, and class). Yet, positionality is relational: It is the result of ongoing interactions between how researchers present themselves in the field and how research participants perceive these presentations. Because self-positioning and positioning of others are mutually bound to each other, positionality reflects a continuous negotiation between actors who may be motivated by different interests. For this reason, it is necessary for researchers to analytically reflect upon the implications of these mutual positionings to more fully understand how to navigate research fields. This is especially important for sensitive research fields—like migration and forced migration—characterized by inequalities, hierarchical structures, and unequal power relations. The present article uses insights from fieldwork conducted among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Germany between 2017 and 2019 to show how configurations of “humanitarian paternalism” and researchers’ false expectations to save the world can frame positionality as a meta-invective action. Positionality informed by self-reflexivity can help to explore the invective latency of field relations and let contradictions, discomfort, and disharmonic elements emerge. This does not mean that field relations will become more equal and that power structures and inequalities will be reduced as a result. However, being aware of these invective elements offers the opportunity to explore a level of analysis that is often overlooked and make steps toward decolonizing research methodologies and knowledge production
Autoethnography · Epistemology · Ethnography · Invective · Narrative · Negotiation · Political science · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration
Researcher Positionality - A Consideration of Its Influence and Place in Qualitative Research - A New Researcher Guide
Ethnography in/of the World System
Beyond Methodology
Refugees in International Relations
On ethnographic confidence and the politics of knowledge in Lebanon
After the reflexive turn in migration studies
Syrian refugee men as objects of humanitarian care
Ethical Challenges in Participant Observation
"Ideal" Refugee Women and Gender Equality Mainstreaming in the Sahrawi Refugee Camps
Modes of Ordering
Carrying Out a Survey of Refugees
Research with Refugees in Fragile Political Contexts
The Birth of a 'Discipline
What Does a Humane Infrastructure for Research Look Like
Fifty Years of Refugee Studies
Participatory Action Research as a Process and as a Goal
Standoffish” Policy-making
"The study of refugees before "Refugee Studies
Labelling Refugees
Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research
Decolonizing Methodologies
Speechless Emissaries
Capturing the Shadow and Light of Researcher Positionality
Academic Dependency and the Global Division of Labour in the Social Sciences
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |