Emotions and positionalities: Experiences from fieldwork among Danish Muslims

Lasse Martin Koefoed*, Kirsten Simonsen

*Corresponding author

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningpeer review

Abstract

This paper discusses epistemological and methodological considerations related
to emotional experiences of conducting research among Muslims. It also involves
considerations of positionalities and the issue of doing critical research on the
basis of experiences. Through concrete examples, we unearth experiences from
fieldwork, in this way uncovering emotions and prejudices from both researchers
and research participants. Experiences then have a double meaning: both as the
study of “their” experiences as living and acting minorities and as “our” methodological experiences and their influence on our studies. It includes recruitment,
mutual prejudice, insecurity, and research roles in participatory research. The
paper draws on research projects that we have undertaken and written about
during the past 10 years involving our work with ethnic minorities (dominantly
Muslims) in Copenhagen. Our approach is what we will call “critical phenomenology” and our methods involve in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations, and participant observations. The major object of the studies, then, is
“ordinary life,” that is, everyday life and embodied experiences from living as
ethnic minorities in the city.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftArea
Vol/bind54
Udgave nummer1
Sider (fra-til)118-125
Antal sider8
ISSN0004-0894
DOI
StatusUdgivet - mar. 2022

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