When reciprocal violence turns into mutual acceptance: A reflection on how dealing with hostile testing facilitated ethnographic production
Journal of Organizational Ethnography
ISSN: 2046-6749
Article publication date: 20 December 2019
Issue publication date: 12 June 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify practices aimed at “passing the test” in fieldwork contexts characterized by reciprocal forms of symbolic violence.
Design/methodology/approach
It is based on an analysis of a fieldwork experience in an intentional community of activists inspired by anarchist ideas.
Findings
This study suggests that in a context of reciprocal violence, the researcher must qualify the specific threat that her presence poses and develop a set of behavioral practices aimed at neutralizing this threat in order to gain acceptance and gather valuable data. Three sets of practices – showing tenacity, disclosing oneself and adjusting while staying consistent – helped the researcher in crafting an acceptable status in the field.
Originality/value
Identifiable moments of hostile challenges should be addressed rather than avoided. They constitute indeed key gateways for understanding the culture and socializing processes of the observed group, and lead to relevant ethical questions regarding the ethnographer’s position.
Keywords
Citation
Farias, C. (2020), "When reciprocal violence turns into mutual acceptance: A reflection on how dealing with hostile testing facilitated ethnographic production", Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 189-203. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-01-2019-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited