The Dangers of the Field: The Researcher’s Perspective

Abstract

In anthropology, discussions of danger in fieldwork are widespread, but the emphasis is almost always on risks to informants. The vulnerability of researchers themselves tends to be discussed solely in private. However, risks exist, and what is more, their nature and categories have been subject to evolution over time. In anthropology’s early years, the key issue was physical survival in an unfamiliar environment. Once women began entering the profession, sexual harassment and violence became recognized threats (these risks also applied to men, of course; the point was, though, that they were far less often openly recognized as such). In the 1980s, new risks to the anthropologist began to emerge that were related to fieldwork in “high status” situations, where the objects of research enjoy access to far superior resources and opportunities than the researchers, and may have recourse to litigation if they object to the research findings. A further problem for university administrations can be work in milieux and communities that do not conform to accepted legal norms or represent “grey areas” relative to these. Finally, a challenge to researchers is also presented by the fact that their informants now also have a voice, as a result of the ever more collaborative and dialogic nature of anthropology as a discipline. The discussion initiated by the Editorial Board is intended not only to address the issues raised for field anthropology in a society where elevated safety concerns are ever present, but also to consider different aspects of risk in anthropological fieldwork of the present day.