Not Alone : Doing Fieldwork in the Company of Family Members

Abstract

Reflecting on three case studies, this article provides an empirically grounded discussion of the challenges and opportunities that arise from doing fieldwork in the company of one’s children and spouse. The article highlights that during fieldwork, one’s private and professional lives are intermingled and the knowledge that one gains is always situated in particular ways. In this article, three female anthropologists elaborate on how they juggle multiple identity positions during fieldwork and how those negotiations and the presence and actions of accompanying family members affect the research material. Children and spouses may be useful during fieldwork but they may also disturb it or take it in unexpected directions. Acknowledging that fieldwork is part of life and that our everyday lives affect the fieldwork process is not a positive or negative thing per se; it is a part of the dynamics that can produce fruitful moments of serendipity.