Conducting team ethnography with African migrants in Mexico: The dynamics of gendered and racialised positionalies in the field

• Published in: Qualitative research : QR Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 591 - 608
• Main Authors: Serra Mingot, Ester, González Zepeda, Carlos Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.06.2024; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Ethnography; Experiments; Fieldwork; Gender; Migrants; Race; Researcher subject relations; Researchers; Teams; Mexico; mixed team ethnography; Mexico; transit migration; African migrants; team ethnography; positionality
• ISSN: 1468-7941; 1741-3109
• DOI: 10.1177/14687941231176939

Based on the current trends in conducting ethnographies, with time and funding limitations and the need to reflect on the researcher's positionality, this article explores the implications of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in a mixed team (in terms of gender, race and nationality) with highly vulnerable populations in a context of crisis. To that end, the article analyses the experience of conducting a team ethnography with African migrants in Tijuana, Mexico. While the study did not start with a self-awareness of what a team ethnography implied, as fieldwork developed the gender, race and nationality of both interviewees and researchers became crucial elements to produce a meaningful multi-layered, multiply-positioned ethnography. This article argues that methodological flexibility and the researchers’ relationship with themselves and the respondents are vital elements that require further experimentation in ethnographic research.