Paper short abstract:

Drawing on fieldwork with Romanians in London during 2020-2021, this paper reflects on how anthropologists can analyse their ‘positioned selves’ to better understand the political structures impacting their own lives and those of their participants in contemporary Britain.

Paper long abstract:

Based on fieldwork at the intersections of COVID-19 and Brexit, this paper argues that reflecting on our ‘positioned selves’ can help ethnographers make better sense of life in contemporary Britain. Between 2020-2021, I lived with and observed the everyday lives of a Romanian family in London. Fieldwork with my co-nationals expanded beyond debates of ‘anthropology at home’ as I engaged in multiple and at times conflicting (re)positionings, what I call ‘positioned selves’. By participating in housework, my role as a young Romanian woman allowed me to document the multi-household network required to sustain livelihoods during ‘a kinwork and care deficit’ created by state pandemic responses (Bear et al., 2020). Witnessing the aftermath of Brexit led me to further identify and align with participants, engaging in bureaucratic efforts to help them secure their status in the UK. However, this identification faltered as I struggled to make sense of my participants’ positions against the COVID-19 vaccine and pandemic. As I grappled with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, I interrogated my role as an ethnographer to make these conspiratorial narratives meaningful and ethically represent them and their political significance. Rather than distinct personas, these ‘positioned selves’ were intertwined and required careful detangling during fieldwork and beyond. Through this process of detangling, I uncovered the many roles played by my participants in the face of multiple ‘crises’ in contemporary Britain – from caring mothers to precarious migrants and discerning conspiracists.