Let’s talk about emotional labor: some reflections from the field

While methodologies on fieldwork are widely discussed in geography, this paper illuminates the challenges of emotional labor that are associated with ethnographic fieldwork. For many geographers, fieldwork is an exciting and crucial part of their job, but for some, especially junior faculty and grad...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Keller, Judith (Author) , Pierce, Colt (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 11 Oct 2023
In: Journal of geography in higher education
Year: 2023, Pages: 1-12
ISSN:0309-8265
DOI:10.1080/03098265.2023.2267455
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2023.2267455
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Author Notes:Judith Keller and Colt A. Pierce
Description
Summary:While methodologies on fieldwork are widely discussed in geography, this paper illuminates the challenges of emotional labor that are associated with ethnographic fieldwork. For many geographers, fieldwork is an exciting and crucial part of their job, but for some, especially junior faculty and graduate students, there are many undiscussed and unanticipated difficulties associated with this work. We focus on three challenges that in particular require emotional labor: always being on alert, attachment to places, and the relationships to research participants. Building on personal stories from their research in US cities, both authors reveal the hardships and realities of ethnographic fieldwork. Yet, in order to open up more critical dialogue and honest conversations about the emotional toll of research, this paper demands an institutionalization of support services, particularly for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), so fieldwork can continue to be a crucial and rewarding part of our discipline.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 11. Oktober 2023
Gesehen am 20.12.2023
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:0309-8265
DOI:10.1080/03098265.2023.2267455