Stories from the Field Peter Krause and Ora Szekely

In this special final episode, we weave together numerous lessons from throughout the book and podcast, from the value of unstructured time in the field to the surprising parallels between hosting a podcast and doing fieldwork. Using some of our favorite interview clips and book readings, we reflect on the excellent advice our contributors shared and talk about why we love field research.  We also turn the mic on our producers!  If you only listen to one episode from this podcast, this is it.

Producer: Harper Barbaree
Editors: Zeyad Anwar, Abigail Hamilton, Garrett Madden, Gabriel Wallen, Lila Zarella

Fotini Christia, Aliyu Zakayo, and Aidan Milliff offer their perspectives as a full professor, a medical doctor and researcher, and an advanced graduate student, respectively, on the ethical and logistical challenges posed by COVID-19 for field research. Each guest draws on their own experiences to offer insights and suggestions for how to adjust your research approach in the face of the pandemic’s disruptions.

Producer: Harper Barbaree
Editors: Zeyad Anwar, Abigail Hamilton, Garrett Madden, Gabriel Wallen, Lila Zarella

We trace the process of learning field research by talking to a group of excellent undergraduate students (Leah Hickert, Jack MacDonald, and Renata Martinez) and advanced graduate students (Vierelina Fernandez, Ayse Lokmanoglu) about how they first encountered and began to conduct field research in their own communities and all over the world. These student-led discussions provide vibrant reminders to us all about how we learn and evolve as researchers and global citizens.

Producer: Harper Barbaree
Editors: Zeyad Anwar, Abigail Hamilton, Garrett Madden, Gabriel Wallen, Lila Zarella

We welcome Jesse Driscoll from UCSD, Milli Lake from the London School of Economics, and Sarah Parkinson from Johns Hopkins University to talk about teaching field research. How can we teach others how to think about, prepare for, and carry out ethical, valuable field research? All of our guests have taught field research methods to undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, Milli and Sarah run a growing consortium on conducting research in fragile and violence-affected environments, and Jesse just published an educational book on doing global fieldwork. If you want to start teaching about field research (or improve your current approach), this is the episode for you!

Producer: Harper Barbaree
Editors:  Zeyad Anwar, Abigail Hamilton, Garrett Madden, Gabriel Wallen, Lila Zarella 

We welcome Ravi Perry from Howard University and Sarah Zukerman Daly from Columbia University to talk about the crucial but oft-overlooked issues of health and safety in the field—whether in one's home community or in a foreign location. Ravi and Sarah share some of the personal challenges they've faced in the course of their fascinating research on the balancing act of racial politics by Black mayors in majority white districts in the U.S., and the variation in the demilitarization of violent organizations following peace negotiations in Colombia, respectively.  Throughout the episode, we discuss a variety of steps that researchers should take to protect themselves and those around them.

Producers: Harper Barbaree, John Gehman, Gabriel Wallen
Editors: Sam Biasi, Shavonne Farell, Alyssa Iferenta, Madison Sarka

We talk to Enze Han from the University of Hong Kong and Robert Ross from Boston College about the significant potential and challenges of doing research in China. Our guests reflect on everything from their experiences building academic relationships with colleagues at Chinese universities to how local perceptions of researchers' own identities can shape the research process.   

Producers: Harper Barbaree, John Gehman, Alyssa Iferenta
Editors: Sam Biasi, Madison Sarka, Shavonne Farrell