[Last modified: November, 4 2024 11:50 AM]
My pilot project has an inevitable political underlying as it focuses on commercial whaling – a practice banned by the IWC (International Whaling Commission) in almost all EEA countries and only recently resumed in Iceland, amongst many critiques of anti-whaling countries and conservation organisations. Therefore, it is a very heated topic, and it is even more so in Iceland where practices of whale-watching and commercial whaling now co-exist.
I would need to carefully unpack my positionality when approaching this project. As an environmental anthropology student, with personal interests in conservation and cetacean culture, I have always had very strong political opinions on whaling practices that I considered dated and unnecessarily brutal. At the same time, I am aware that I have always listened to one side of the story. Behind the big, bad, evil whaling companies that in the environmental activists’ narrative (the only one I am familiar with) almost look like abstract entities, there are people doing the job. Since anthropology is concerned with complicating apparent polarized issues to reveal grey areas and problematizing notions that we take for granted, I think this project might have potential, even though it would require a constant assessment of my own prejudices and political views as they will inevitably get in the way.
Focusing on the relationship between whales and hunters might reveal important anthropological insights as well as political implications. Conducting fieldwork where the only whaling company existing in Iceland operates and speaking to the people employed by that company might reveal information about their working conditions, how the animals are captured, and how the legislative pressures are handled – currently, there is a strict limitation on the numbers of whales that can be killed by the company per year, at least on paper.
The methods used when conducting fieldwork need to take into account these conflicting dimensions. Given the thorny topic, my intentions and research interests need to be clear from the beginning so that I can eventually be trusted by the people I am going to collaborate with. When conducting participant observation and interviews, it would be important to maintain a level of sensitivity that will allow me to be open and avoid direct statements regarding my personal opinions on whaling practices. Very explicit comments could prevent me from getting to know what I am looking for when interviewing people directly involved in those practices. Anonymity, alteration of personal data, and use of pseudonyms would also be crucial, although the fact that these workers are employed by the only whaling company in the whole country makes them highly recognisable and comes with another set of ethical problems.