Ethnographer location and the politics of translation: researching one’s own group in a host country

Abstract

As public and academic attention to migration increases, methodological issues related to such research become increasingly important. Although previous efforts of scholars have provided excellent guidance concerning reflexivity and power relationships in research, these discussions have tended to assume a conventional hierarchy positioning and have been limited to the relationship between the researcher and the researched only. Yet, given the shift in the research environment stemming from the increasing mobility of scholars and the increasing interchange of knowledge, as well as emerging auto-ethnographic/auto-biographic research, it is now necessary to challenge these traditional assumptions. This article raises questions concerning the hierarchical relationship between researcher and researched and certain conceptions of the field of ethnography based on my own research experience regarding South Korean migrant women in the UK. Accordingly, with particular emphasis on the researcher’s role as a translator, this article suggests extending our consideration of such relationships to the readership, which constitutes an important, but under-considered, factor in the research process.