25th January 2025

Angela Kronenburg García, Chiara Rabbiosi, Ruth Wairimu John

We are writing this first reflection on our methodology in the time span between two fieldworks, one done by Ruth alone in October 2024 and one that we will do together in February 2025. During these three months, we have been moving back and forth with Ruth’s field notes to reflect and prepare for our next field visit. Ruth’s notes include long discussions with Mzee Maro (a pseudonym). Mzee is the designation given to a respected elder. In fact, Mzee Maro was given the task by the local authorities to accompany Ruth during her fieldwork in Terrat. Through her discussions with him and with other members of the community, it became clear that a structured participatory action-research methodology based on visual methods was not suitable, and possibly problematic, in the context of Terrat.

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15th July 2024

Beatrice Ferlaino, Tamara Taher, Ginevra Montefusco

Research is a process in which the researcher interacts with multiple and diverse levels while she develops her questions. Far from being a solitary activity of theoretical study and elaboration, it is rooted in daily and complex relations with numerous spaces and actors which constantly question the researcher herself. Reflexivity on one’s own position and on how we practice our relationships with environments, people and contexts we encounter while doing research is not a separate section that we do after research or only in writing, but is rather a constant element in both theory-making and analysis and in “fieldwork” and research practice. 

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