Positionality and participatory ethics in the Global South: critical reflections on and lessons learned from fieldwork failure

ABSTRACT

This essay is a critical reflection on positionality, participatory ethics and fieldwork failure in the Global South. It argues that the collision of our academic theories with socio-political realities in the field cannot be separated from and often includes who we are and what we think we can do as researchers. It explores how my understandings of my positionality as a white, male doctoral student from the United States were challenged during my fieldwork in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. I explore the difficulties of negotiating my positionality amongst different groups of people with competing political interests and ideologies at the annual Festa Confederada – a festival that celebrates US southern heritage and culture. I critically reflect on how my failure to negotiate the various axes of my identity with the local chapter of the Movimento Negro (Black Movement) and with the Confederate Festival’s organizers revealed political-ideological differences within the Movimento Negro and resulted in my being barred from conducting research at the annual festival. In an effort to be as transparent and self-critical as possible, this essay also explores valuable and sometimes embarrassing lessons learned that other researchers from the Global North should heed before entering the field.

KEYWORDS:

• Positionality
• participatory ethics
• Global South
• fieldwork failure

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Drs. Derek Alderman and Solange Muñoz for their guidance throughout my graduate studies, as well as their support and mentorship in helping me adapt to fieldwork failure. Thank you to Dr. Schnell and the anonymous reviewers for your helpful comments during the revision process. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the funding sources who provided support for this research: the National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship, the Thomas-Penley-Allen Fellowship at the University of Tennessee, the W.K. McClure Scholarship for the Study of World Affairs, and the Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial Fund. Finally, I would like to especially thank Cláudia Monteiro and Marielle Ananias for their helpful insights and support with my fieldwork in Brazil.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Jordan P. Brasher is a doctoral candidate in Geography at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. His research focuses on race, place, and the transnational politics of Confederate memory.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Security Education Program David L. Boren Fellowship; W.K. McClure Scholarship for the Study of World Affairs: [Grant Number None]; Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial Fund: [Grant Number None]; University of Tennessee Thomas Fellowship: [Grant Number None].