Anthropology Matters Journal, 2007, Vol 9 (2)

Writing Up and Feeling Down...

Editor: Ingie Hovland

Editorial: Writing Up and Feeling Down...: introduction

Ingie Hovland (SOAS)

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Articles

Getting down to writing up: navigating from the field to the desk and the (re)presentation of fieldwork

Paul O'Hare (University of Sheffield)

The writing of a thesis comes at the end of a long and, for some of us, torturous journey. It is in the thesis that we must present the research process, defending the methodology that was utilised, and explaining our insights and conclusions. Writing up is the stage at which we must make order and sense out of what is usually a messy research project. Yet at the same time, it is clear that the write-up is not necessarily a straightforward reflection of our actions; it is not simply a matter of reporting how we 'did' the research. Furthermore, our approach to the write-up is itself a critical methodological consideration. For instance, the presentation of material, deciding what to include and exclude in a final manuscript, is subjective and frequently becomes a source of concern and self-doubt. Writing represents the 'end game' when we can no longer be cautious regarding our thoughts and must commit to paper what had hitherto been ethereal. As such, it often represents a psychological leap of faith in our own minds and this can bring with it many challenges. In this paper I examine these issues in more detail, by reflecting upon my own doctoral thesis write-up, and in particular, the writing up of my empirical work. In particular, I consider both how I was troubled by my leaving the field and the leap of faith that this encompassed. I secondly turn to consider the practical difficulties faced in writing up complicated and lengthy case study chapters. In so doing, I illustrate how, rather than representing obstacles to the completion of the thesis, such challenges can in fact facilitate a more balanced and reflexive research write-up.

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Three narratives of anthropological engagement

Melania Calestani (Goldsmiths), Ioannis Kyriakakis (UCL), and Nico Tassi (UCL)

This article is an account of different experiences, reflections and impressions that have arisen when embarking on the process of doing anthropological research and writing a thesis. The common ground of these three narratives is that they refer to our personal engagement with anthropology, our experiences within the academic world, as well as to our restless endeavour to make sense of them. We are particularly concerned with the language, the methods, and what usually remains unsaid or is taken for granted with regard to the context of anthropological training, fieldwork and writing up. Our claim is that whereas we as anthropologists attentively take into account the context of our research, we have often failed to pay a similar kind of attention to ourselves and our academic context. We see this article as a contribution towards such study.

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The dangers of writing up: a cautionary tale from Bangladesh

Harriet Matsaert, Zahir Ahmed, Faruqe Hussain and Noushin Islam

In this paper, we reflect on our experiences of writing up for an 'action research' project in Bangladesh. In this work we wanted both to produce high quality anthropological analysis, and also to meet development aims, which depended on effective partnerships with those we were studying. In writing up we found that these aims can be conflicting. Our experience highlights the need for applied anthropologists to be acutely aware of their role and status and to be prepared for the kind of reaction their text may provoke. Some practical lessons include a recommendation to keep the text a 'work in progress' for as long as possible, using this time to share and revise it with others and to build consensus before publication. We also found it useful to move from a critical to an appreciative stance in our analysis. We believe that this change of focus does not lessen the rigour of analysis but presents information in a more constructive way which is conducive to partnerships and action.

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New Research

India wiring out: ethnographic reflections from two transnational call centres in India

Meher Varma (Bard College)

This article examines the increasing presence of North American call centres in Bangalore and Delhi and analyses the ways in which these products of transnationalism have impacted notions of Indian national identity. The analysis is based on primary fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2006, and reflections on Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat, one of the earliest pieces of literature that discussed the call centre phenomenon. The argument presented suggests that the popular notion that India has become an equal global power because of the outsourcing business is flawed; instead, it points out that evident within many pro-globalisation claims is the reproduction of a first/third world hierarchy that works to further oppress the third world worker. I focus on accent training sessions and information gathered from first-hand interviews and observations to suggest that the call centre business has emerged as a convenient way for North American companies to create Indians as subordinate workers, who are expected to exchange physical mobility for the comparatively high economic benefits that the business promises.

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