Paper Short Abstract:

Ethnographic fieldwork involves complex power dynamics and implicit ethical and moral debts. This paper reflects on these challenges through my fieldwork in a strongly patriarchal Indian community, highlighting the tensions and ambivalences faced, and the need for better preparation for future anthropologists.

Paper Abstract:

Ethnographic fieldwork entails a network of power relations and implicit ethical and moral debts, making their management not only difficult but often overwhelming, both physically and psychologically. These dynamics depend on the fieldwork context and the researcher's position and condition (origin, social class, sex, gender and role, amog others).

Drawing from my experience conducting fieldwork in a strongly patriarchal community in India and within a context of significant social differences, I aim to reflect on these issues by showcasing the tensions and ambivalences we face. How does one manage power relations with men in a patriarchal context while being a woman with strong feminist convictions? How can one dismantle perceived power relations when fieldwork participants view you as superior? How does one handle moral and ethical debts with counterparts when "collisions" between different actors arise? What can be done when the requirement for empathy with counterparts becomes a "burden"?

These reflections seek to highlight the challenges of fieldwork that are largely not conveyed to new generations of anthropologists, helping them better prepare to confront the real problems they will often face alone. This analysis is framed within critical feminist theories, such as corporeal feminism and affect theories, and aims to contribute to the discussion on embodied subjectivities, fieldwork dynamics, and ethnographic authority.