Citation

Swanson K. Area 2008; 40(1): 55-64.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1475-4762.2008.00786.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper examines how power, privilege and vulnerability can surface in unexpected ways during fieldwork. Drawing from my experiences working with indigenous women and children who beg and sell on the streets of Ecuador, I suggest that researchers do not always hold as much power as we might assume. By positioning myself within stories about witches and children, I discuss how multiple research identities can shift power dynamics in unsettling and unexpected ways. In this paper, I also reflect upon a particularly unorthodox research method: using my dog as a research assistant. My dog inadvertently became instrumental in providing access to children's life stories; however, her presence also highlighted some of the dramatic incongruities between their life experiences and my own.