BSA Regional Postgraduate Event: ‘Close to home: moral dilemmas, ethical practice and complexities of reflexivity in ethnographic research.’

Friday 3 June 2016, London School of Economics

Confirmed speakers: Karen Lumsden (Loughborough University), Lisa Mckenzie (LSE), Laurie Taylor (BBC Radio 4) and more TBC.

Ethnography as a methodological tool is founded in a long tradition of social science research and over the past decade ethnography has moved once again to forefront of sociological concern. Considered one of the few research methods able to escape the shackles of the academy in full form, in recent months ethnographic accounts have both topped the best sellers lists internationally alongside attracting much academic and lay commentary and critique (Goffman, 2015; Martin, 2015; Mckenzie, 2015). Central to such debates is the concern and question regarding who is permitted to conduct ethnographic research citing the occupational hazard ethnographers risk in eroticising or misrepresenting their research subjects and sites. Appreciating the diverse forms that ethnographic research can take, this event explores the role of the researcher in ethnographic research, reflecting on the challenges the researcher faces in the collection and presentation of data. The event opens with the question of how the researcher can facilitate critical thought and provide valuable contribution to the discipline, whilst avoiding inaccuracies or enacting symbolic violence, however unintentional. Critically reflecting on the concept of reflexivity, the event looks to investigate power dynamics alongside the emotional experience of the research field.

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