Paper short abstract:

Anthropology has a long history of treating dreams as valid objects of cross-cultural analysis. In this paper I will consider the relevance and challenges of anthropologists drawing on their own dreams as part of their fieldwork methodology.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropology has a long history of treating dreams as valid objects of cross-cultural analysis. Almost universally, this research angle has been confined to the dreams of 'the other', the people who are being studied (Young 1992). In this paper I will consider the relevance and challenges of anthropologists drawing on their own dreams as part of their fieldwork methodology. On my first ever field trip in Australia, I had an unusual dream of a traditional Aboriginal ceremony. Sharing this dream 10 years later with an informant opened up a space for conversations that may not otherwise have happened. This and other vignettes of conversations about dreams will illustrate the connective power of this dimension to life. The paper will also consider the importance of developing clarity about the different paradigms through which to interpret dreams and explore the challenges anthropologists face in navigating both honouring their informants understandings and maintaining academic respectability.