Universität zu Köln

Kuiper, Gerda ORCID: 0000-0002-9663-4838, Rüßing, Lena, Steinberger, Sofie ORCID: 0009-0002-4418-3008, Fehlings, Susanne ORCID: 0000-0003-1278-0844, Tappe, Oliver ORCID: 0000-0002-0154-6844 and Münch, Ole ORCID: 0000-0002-9917-4451 (2024). Combining historical and ethnographic methods: Theoretical, methodological, and ethical implications. Institut für Ethnologie, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This working paper discusses theoretical, methodological, and ethical questions researchers encounter when combining historical and ethnographic research approaches. In 2021, a group of historians and cultural and social anthropologists formed the interdisciplinary working group Entanglements of Historical and Ethnographic Research (Approaches). The group members share an interest in combining historical and anthropological research methods and approaches. This publication is a result of their discussions. The working paper contains contributions by Susanne Fehlings (Frobenius Institute/Goethe University Frankfurt), Oliver Tappe (University of Heidelberg), Lena Rüßing (Head Office of the German Science and Humanities Council), Ole Münch (German Historical Institute London), Sofie Steinberger (University of Cologne), and Gerda Kuiper (University of Cologne). Based on the fields of ethnohistory, historical anthropology as well as oral history and archival research within the field of historical research, the contributions show that anthropologists and historians face similar methodological challenges and encounter comparable questions and uncertainties during the research process. The papers address topics such as the use of the histoire croisée approach for anthropologists, ethnographic multi-sited archival fieldwork, various aspects of oral history research in terms of positionality, power structures, language use and secondary analysis of interviews, as well as remote data collection. Although the contributions focus on very individual subject matters related to the research topics of the group members and although the contributors have carried out research in different regions (the Caucasus, Laos, Canada, the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Tanzania), they also share similar concerns and interests. Questions and concerns addressed throughout the working paper are the question how to give voice to marginalized people, the role of historiography in contested and exclusionary processes of nation-building (and the question how researchers can avoid contributing to such nationalist discourses through their historical research), and the opportunities and pitfalls of a researcher’s remoteness in time and space. We hope our discussions of such questions and concerns in this working paper are helpful for other researchers working on the interface of history and anthropology.

Item Type:	Book, conference item or legal commentary
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Kuiper, Gerda UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-9663-4838 UNSPECIFIED Rüßing, Lena UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Steinberger, Sofie UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0009-0002-4418-3008 UNSPECIFIED Fehlings, Susanne UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-1278-0844 UNSPECIFIED Tappe, Oliver UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-0154-6844 UNSPECIFIED Münch, Ole UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-9917-4451 UNSPECIFIED
Editors:	Editors Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Steinberger, Sofie UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0009-0002-4418-3008 UNSPECIFIED Rüßing, Lena UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kuiper, Gerda UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-9663-4838 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-733302
Series Name at the University of Cologne:	Kölner Arbeitspapiere zur Ethnologie
Volume:	9
Number of Pages:	88
Date:	2024
Publisher:	Institut für Ethnologie, Universität zu Köln
ISSN:	1864-7766
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Fächergruppe 4: Außereuropäische Sprachen, Kulturen und Gesellschaften > Institut für Ethnologie
Subjects:	Customs, etiquette, folklore
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language historiography English (historical) anthropology English oral history English archives English remoteness English colonialism English histoire croisée English
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/73330