Friday, November 8, 2024 The Cultural Anthropology Student Family (KEMANT) UGM held a discussion session in Rembukant#4 entitled “Navigating the Journey: Building Self-Awareness of Positioning in Ethnographic Fieldwork”. The event was hosted by Keisia Haneswari, a Cultural Anthropology student class of 2022 with Dr. Elan Lazuardi S.Ant., M.A. as the guest speaker. Located in Room 523 Soegondo Building, Faculty of Arts UGM, this event was attended by cultural anthropology students from various generations.
Reflecting on the fieldwork experience of anthropologists, this discussion explored the journey of anthropological researchers which is not always smooth. Awkwardness, fear, rejection, loneliness, and even failure often haunt ethnographers’ fieldwork. Therefore, Rembukant#4 is here to provide a space for anthropology learners to reflect on issues that have not been widely discussed in the classroom.
The discussion opened with a question from the moderator related to questioning the position of researchers when doing fieldwork. The question was then thoroughly discussed by Dr. Elan Lazuardi related to the multiple identities that each researcher brings when in the field greatly affects the relationship between researchers and researchers which will then also affect the ethnographic knowledge produced. In the event, Dr. Elan also shared his fieldwork experience when researching the use of HIV health services, how his identity as a researcher determines his positionality towards his research. By realizing his positionality, the researcher can not only successfully complete his research but also build a reciprocal relationship with his researcher, as stated by Dr. Elan Lazuardi.
In the question and answer session, a number of participants asked questions and shared their experiences when facing confusing circumstances regarding their positionality in the field. After that, the discussion was closed with a group photo which also marked the end of the KEMANT Rembukant series this period.
[Public Relation FIB UGM, Author: Keisia Haneswari, Photo: Hawa Muzayyinah Niswah & Kinanti Rahmi Khoiri, Editor: Sandya]
