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Accepted Paper:
Am I not good enough? Dealing with conflicting situations arising during fieldwork
Hina Cheema
(Massey University)
Sita Venkateswar
(Massey University, Palmerston North)
Carolyn Morris
(Massey University, Palmerston North)
Paper short abstract:
The paper explores the impact of fieldwork on an anthropologist by highlighting how fieldwork interactions shape anthropologist’s own understanding of her beliefs and practices.
Paper long abstract:
The paper explores the impact of fieldwork on an anthropologist by highlighting how fieldwork interactions shape anthropologist’s own understanding of her beliefs and practices. The paper draws on my PhD research conducted with Muslim women in New Zealand. Being Muslim myself, I found it challenging to be both a Muslim believer and a critical feminist anthropologist, particularly during heated discussions with research participants. Mostly, my conversations with participants were either too critical or too traditional. As this imbalance progressed, I found that the one being most confused, was me. There were times when I felt that somehow, I was no longer a good Muslim. At other moments, I began to think that I was simply not a good enough anthropologist. Such conflicting situations created self-arguments on being at once a good researcher, and a good Muslim.