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Paper short abstract

In a field dominated by visual observations, it is not unusual for an ethnographer with (im)partial sight to be confronted with the question on knowing what she knows. Hence, I attempt to elucidate an embodied mode of knowing – beyond seeing. 

Paper long abstract

As an ethnographer, who cannot rely on her eyesight to perceive the surroundings, I am often confronted with the question on knowing what I know. Here I seek to elucidate certain aspects of the embodied approach that I subconsciously developed over time and continued to exercise during the course of my fieldwork, primarily conducted between March 2022 and May 2023. From establishing the initial contacts to being connected to prospective interlocutors, my (dis)ability often played a significant role. It was frequently  demonstrated how my research partners catered to these ‘special’ circumstances and adapted accordingly. Moreover, my ‘(im)partial’ sight facilitated me in sharing an intimate (physical) space with many of my research partners. Coming into physical contact, which was often not necessary, altered the notions of (in)tangibility in our routine interactions. Hence, the performativity of touch not only contributed to strengthening my relations with my research partners through their depiction of empathy towards me but also was indicative of the depth of our relation(s). Additionally, going into the field as an ‘embodied ethnographer’ allowed me to acquire some material details through perception by the skin, in the form of active as well as passive touch. This also enabled me, at instances, to feel and know beyond the visual. In a nutshell, this contribution encompasses my reflections on the role ‘touching’ and ‘being touched’ played in my ethnography with the Afghans who migrated to Pakistan following the Taliban taking charge of the Afghan government, in August 2021.