Fieldwork as a "Colonial Encounter"? The Impact and Dynamics of Fieldwork

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, grade: 1.0, Queen's University Belfast (School of History and Anthropology), course: Social Anthropology, language: English, abstract: I will explore the impact and dynamics of fieldwork in various settings, and seek to illustrate the extent to which the process itself resembles a ¿colonial encounter¿. Before doing so, however, initial foundations must be laid through the clarification of terms, and detailing of context.

Concerning the role and significance of fieldwork within the context of colonialism, there remains considerable debate, as well as subjective interpretation, in light of its ambiguous contribution to the colonial objective, and the motivations behind its implementation.