Behind-the-Scenes: Conversations on Fieldwork

Call for Proposals 2023/24

Behind-the-Scenes: Conversations on Fieldwork is a new series of informal academic talks and events organised by the Fieldwork Research Group in ILCS, providing a platform for fieldwork-based research in Languages, Cultures and Societies. 

The focus of the Behind-the-Scenes seminar series is an exploration of the processes we engage with on the journey towards producing the published research output, covering all the stages involved in fieldwork in geographical, virtual or un-sited fields. From the aspirations and expectations that precede fieldwork, through the messy and unpredictable circumstances of conducting the research, the scope of the series is wide and includes research design; funding; logistical preparations for engaging in fieldwork, dealing with unexpected challenges; the emotional impacts of the work, the multiple rewards of fieldwork collaborations, methods for analysing, cataloguing, and storing information during fieldwork, along with information retrieval from fieldwork. And in the aftermath of fieldwork, the series covers how we engage with the tortuous process of selecting what goes into the final polished output, which invariably includes excising valuable insights accumulated during fieldwork in the process. Behind-the-Scenes is a space where we can look at all those facets of fieldwork, including those which often remain unexplored and unspoken. 

We invite proposals on any aspect - ethical, theoretical, practical, emotional, or other - of fieldwork-based research, for a 30-minute presentation in our 2023-4 series. We encourage speakers to draw from their lived experiences of navigating the spaces and situations that constitute their fieldwork universe concluding on the relevance of these findings for fieldwork design and practice. The presentation is followed by discussion and all participants will be encouraged to engage actively and supportively in the session’s Conversation sharing from their own experiences, or from their own expectations for participants planning fieldwork-based research.

The series will be delivered via Zoom, with each session lasting a maximum of 60 minutes. It will usually take place on Wednesdays early evening. 

Proposals are invited from colleagues at any stage in their career, working in academic or other institutions, and doctoral candidates and early career researchers are very welcome to submit a proposal.   

The format of the proposal is 1) working title, 2) a short summary of the presentation (200 words), and 3) a brief bio of the speaker (50-100 words) for submission by 25 August 2023. 

Please send your proposal to Professor Claire Griffiths at [email protected]. For details on the ILCS Fieldwork Research Group please visit the Institute’s webpages.