Practicing Ethnography in Migration-Related Detention Centers: A Reflexive Account
Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 45:1, 57-69, DOI: 10.1080/10852352.2016.1197742
Criminal Justice, Borders and Citizenship Research Paper No. 2908016
19 Pages Posted: 30 Jan 2017
Date Written: 2017
Abstract
Feminist scholars, as well as community psychologists, have advocated the role of reflexive engagement in the research process in order to challenge power relations. Moreover, the liberating potential of storytelling, especially when working with issues of diversity and marginalization, has been stressed. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on an ethnographic work underway in the Identification and Expulsion Center-CIE of Ponte Galeria, Rome. How the researcher’s identities, values, and experiences, alongside power and privilege, have influenced her positioning in the research setting and the relationships formed with the different setting members is the subject of discussion. In sharing the story of this work, the final intent is to contribute to the joint effort to foster a reflexive community psychology practice, incorporating feminist goals, and a dialogue about ethnography in community psychology.
Keywords: migration-related detention, ethnography, reflexivity, power relationships, storytelling
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