Before, during and after: how to work with fieldwork in IR?

• Department of Political and Social Sciences

In the framework of the Swiss Chair activities, this event features a workshop by Rahel Kunz (University of Lausanne).

Preparing and doing fieldwork and working with fieldwork data raises many issues that are only partially addressed in methodology manuals. This workshop offers a space to discuss such issues in an informal setting. In the first part of this workshop, Professor Rahel Kunz will present her experience of doing fieldwork in multiple contexts. Drawing on feminist and post/decolonial literature and praxis, she will present common issues related to fieldwork and how they can be addressed. In the second part, we will discuss issues related to fieldwork raised by workshop participants. The format is interactive and participants are encouraged to bring their experiences and questions related to planning fieldwork, and issues encountered during or after completing fieldwork.

Rahel Kunz is a Professor of International Politics at the Institute of Political Studies at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Her research draws on feminist, poststructuralist and de/postcolonial theories to analyse intersectional dimensions of international politics. She has published on topics including gender expertise, remittances and the migration and development nexus, gender and peacebuilding, the politics of knowledge production, and pedagogy in IR.