Associate Professor of Government Kira Jumet is the co-editor of a new volume on Doing Research as a Native: A Guide for Fieldwork in Illiberal and Repressive States, published recently by Oxford University Press.
Jumet, with Merouan Mekouar, a York University social scientist, compiled “narratives from 19 scholars, representing 15 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, South America, Central Asia and South Asia, who conducted fieldwork in their native repressive and/or illiberal countries,” according to the publisher’s description.
The book focuses on the challenges this type of research presents, offering “practical advice on how to navigate obstacles, including safety and mental/emotional health challenges,” encountered by these academics.
Jumet and Mekouar co-authored several chapters in this volume. “Gender and Societal Expectations,” “Race, Ethnicity, and Belonging,” “Legal Threats and Red Lines,” and “Exploitation,” are each presented as a “provisional guide” at the end of the section of the book on that topic.
