Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor

In this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, bei...

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Main Author: Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad del Rosario 2019-07-01
Series:Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627
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author Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla
author_facet Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla
author_sort Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla
collection DOAJ
description In this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, being an outsider, dealing with personal characteristics that influence data collection (such as gender and age), working under psychologically and physically overwhelming circumstances, dealing with the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about vulnerable populations, and doing interdisciplinary work. In doing so, I will engage and build on the literature published by scholars from different disciplines who explore in different ways the difficulties they encountered while conducting fieldwork with vulnerable populations. Ultimately, my goal is also to encourage lawyers who work addressing social problems and pursue an academic career, to take the time and risk to conduct the rewarding adventure of fieldwork.
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spelling doaj.art-8c8aad06e6424ca5b6aeae511eef9a682022-12-21T23:29:40ZengUniversidad del RosarioRevista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos0124-05792145-45312019-07-0121210.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/sociojuridicos/a.7627Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poorLaura Cecilia Porras Santanilla0Universidad del RosarioIn this paper I will reflect on six different challenges that I had to face as a Colombian lawyer who conducted eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with poor workers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba in Bogotá. Specifically, I will reflect on the topics of accessing a new field, being an outsider, dealing with personal characteristics that influence data collection (such as gender and age), working under psychologically and physically overwhelming circumstances, dealing with the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about vulnerable populations, and doing interdisciplinary work. In doing so, I will engage and build on the literature published by scholars from different disciplines who explore in different ways the difficulties they encountered while conducting fieldwork with vulnerable populations. Ultimately, my goal is also to encourage lawyers who work addressing social problems and pursue an academic career, to take the time and risk to conduct the rewarding adventure of fieldwork.https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627ethnographic fieldworkpoor workerslabor lawqualitative methods.
spellingShingle Laura Cecilia Porras Santanilla
Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos
ethnographic fieldwork
poor workers
labor law
qualitative methods.
title Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
title_full Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
title_fullStr Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
title_full_unstemmed Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
title_short Ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
title_sort ethical and methodological challenges for a lawyer facing fieldwork amidst the working poor
topic ethnographic fieldwork
poor workers
labor law
qualitative methods.
url https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/sociojuridicos/article/view/7627
work_keys_str_mv AT lauraceciliaporrassantanilla ethicalandmethodologicalchallengesforalawyerfacingfieldworkamidsttheworkingpoor