[Last modified: October, 19 2024 09:02 AM]
Research question/Particular ethnographic focus
As highlighted by the exercise on “Week 1,” my research questions are about human-animal relationships in Iceland, focusing on fishers working for the only Icelandic whaling company still active today and members of conservation organisations. In particular, I am interested in how fishers relate to the whales they hunt and how dynamics between fishers and conservationists are being played out.
Personal experience/Interest in the topic/Preconceived ideas
I have always been fascinated by whales and their culture, although the most traditional anthropologists might turn their noses up at this definition. During my undergraduate studies, I also had the opportunity to study comparative anatomy and vertebrate evolution, including cetaceans. This project would allow me to get closer to these animals while approaching the topic from an anthropological perspective. Besides, my undergraduate dissertation was based on the anthropology of detachment, and I would like to explore whether fishers carry out any detaching practices in their work. When first outlining my research questions, I did not realise how many preconceived ideas I was bringing into the project. For instance, I assumed that fishers would detach themselves from the act of killing or dismembering whales, whereas completely different attitudes might be at play.
Positionality
I would approach the field site as an “outsider”, not having any personal connection to the context. This condition is a two-edged sword as it might allow me to get different insights compared to a person from inside the community, but it would also preclude my access to some spaces and information. As aforementioned, the project’s focus would be twofold: members of conservation organisations on one hand, and fishers on the other. My positionality would impact how I would get perceived on the field, especially in contacting the latter group. When visiting Iceland for the first time, I had the opportunity to talk to conservation biologists, some of whom work closely with whale-watching companies – not all of them, as some carry out very stressful practices for the whales. Members of these organisations are used to talking to tourists all the time, and it would probably make things easier – the fact that I am an Italian woman not native to Iceland (and therefore I do not speak Icelandic) might not be as impactful. In fact, many people working at the whale-watching site (including the biologists) seemed around my age, and not everyone was native to Iceland, English being the main language spoken. However, when trying to contact fishers working at Hvalur hf., my positionality might have an adverse effect. The fact that I am a woman in a possibly male-dominated environment, and I do not speak Icelandic in a place where presumably little English is spoken (this is another assumption, but it might be the case as the area where the company is based is not a touristy one) might prevent me from getting close to them. It might also affect my interpretation of data, as I would probably tend to sympathize with those with whom I have more in common.