Prepositional Engagement: An Approach for Ethnography

• In Event: 1462 - Ethnography/Ethnographic Studies

Abstract

This paper takes seriously the promise that through prepositional engagement in the field, the ethnographer can more clearly identify how to “be in the field,” how to relate to and with ethnographic participants. While this paper is still in development, as a starting point, let us explore “speaking nearby” as an ethical methodological approach, which can be defined as:

“… a speaking that does not objectify does not point to an object as if it is distant from the speaking subject or absent from the speaking place. A speaking that reflects on itself and can come very close to a subject without, however, seizing and claiming it. A speaking in brief, whose closures are only moments of transition opening up to other possible moments of transition—these are forms of indirectness well understood by anyone in tune with poetic language. … It is an attitude, a way of positioning yourself in relation to the world” (Trinh 1999:218).

Trinh’s approach has the potential to contribute to ethnography by offering a compelling alternative for conducting research with “human subjects” in the field, particularly vulnerable, marginalized, and otherwise misrepresented communities.

Author

• Aaron Brennen Benavidez, Harvard University