Behind-the-Scenes: Conversations on Fieldwork Seminar Series

*POSTPONED* Regrettably we have to postpone this seminar. A new date will be arranged as soon as possible.

Fieldwork with Indigenous Amazigh Communities

Speakers: Kaya Davies Hayon (Open University) and Fadma Aït Mous (Hassan II University of Casablanca)
Chair: Claire Griffiths (Chester)

What are the rewards and challenges of working with Indigenous communities? How can fieldwork researchers establish relationships and build trust? What ethical, linguistic and cultural issues might arise, and how can these be navigated in ways that respect local traditions and customs? Drawing on fieldwork conducted with Amazigh women in Morocco, this session explores the main issues to consider when conducting fieldwork in and with Indigenous communities, and offers insights from experience in the field.

Bios
Kaya Davies Hayon is a Lecturer in Film & Media at the Open University. Her research and teaching focus broadly on the intersections of gender, ethnicity and sexuality in contemporary Arab cinemas. Kaya draws on feminist and phenomenological theories, and is interested in how image-making and exhibition can break down barriers between self and other. 
Fadma Aït Mous is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Sociology Department at the Faculty of Letter and the Humanities Aïn Chock, Hassan II University of Casablanca. She is nominated Director of the Confucius Institute and “Chargée de mission” of developing research on Social Sciences and Humanities. 

The focus of the Behind-the-Scenes seminar series is an exploration of the processes we engage with on the journey towards producing the published research output, covering all the stages involved in fieldwork in geographical, virtual or un-sited fields. From the aspirations and expectations that precede fieldwork, through the messy and unpredictable circumstances of conducting the research, the scope of the series is wide and includes research design; funding; logistical preparations for engaging in fieldwork, dealing with unexpected challenges; the emotional impacts of the work, the multiple rewards of fieldwork collaborations, methods for analysing, cataloguing, and storing information during fieldwork, along with information retrieval from fieldwork. And in the aftermath of fieldwork, the series covers how we engage with the tortuous process of selecting what goes into the final polished output, which invariably includes excising valuable insights accumulated during fieldwork in the process. Behind-the-Scenes is a space where we can look at all those facets of fieldwork, including those which often remain unexplored and unspoken.