Paper Short Abstract:

This presentation explores the potential of drawing as both a method of representation of ethnographic material and a mode of inquiry in the context of an (auto)ethnographic PhD project. Using drawing to map the process of writing an article-based dissertation, I engage with themes of motherhood, migration, bureaucracy, and identity, as well as the embodied challenges of academic work during a time of global and personal upheaval.

Paper Abstract:

This presentation explores the potential of drawing as both a method of representation of ethnographic material and a mode of inquiry in the context of an (auto)ethnographic PhD project.

My doctoral research, consisting of four articles on marriage migration to Germany, investigates the lived experiences of migrant women and binational couples navigating bureaucratic constraints. The process began when my child was six months old. The active phase of field data collection coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. It later continued amid the Russo-Ukrainian war, bringing new layers of complexity. My work was deeply shaped by my positionality as a Russian researcher writing about, among others, Ukrainian respondents within a German academic setting. Drawing became a vital tool for self-expression, enabling me to visually articulate my experiences of being a migrant, a scholar, and a mother, while grappling with issues of identity, belonging, and ethical responsibility.

Inspired by the French feminist comic artist Emma, particularly her book The Mental Load (2018), and German illustrator Nora Krug (2018; 2023), I used drawing to organize and reflect on the intersecting demands of academic life and care work. The chapters "between" the personal meta narrative represent the outcomes of my work — four articles addressing the themes of border externalization, subjectivization, migrant resistance, and online misogyny. In this presentation, I will share how sketching not only documents the doctoral journey but also serves as an analytical lens to rethink ethnographic writing, feminist methodologies, and the broader challenges of working in academia during the Anthropocene.