On an ethic of not going there

Bibliographic Data

ID4646191
AuthorsAnna Guasco (0000-0003-1659-9057, Department of Geography University of Cambridge Cambridge UK, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume188
Issue3
Pages468-475
Publication date2022-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7398 • E-ISSN: 1475-4959
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/geoj.12462
OpenAlexW4283218940
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited36

Fieldwork - "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

Archaeology · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Framing (construction · Geography · Norm (philosophy · Normative · Social science · Sociology · Data Analysis and Archiving · Historical Geography and Geographical Thought · Philosophy · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access