Challenges of State Ethnographies in Uruguayan Enclosed Facilities for Children and Adolescents
No. 47 (2022-04-01)Author(s)
-
Cecilia Montes-MaldonadoUniversidad de la República, Uruguay
-
Laura López-GallegoUniversidad de la República, Uruguay
Abstract
In this paper, we address the challenges to ethnographically-oriented qualitative research in Uruguayan state facilities for children and adolescents. Based on two qualitative studies, we examine the relevance of conducting research in enclosed institutions that manage the daily lives of children and adolescents within a state framework. Several methodological challenges and questions arise including the different dimensions of institutional access, transit and permanence; the rapport and communication with research participants and key institutional actors; and the writing and dissemination of the results of this type of research. We discuss the possibilities and obstacles associated with qualitative methodologies when carrying out state ethnographies, and the importance of such studies as a way to evidence the living conditions of children and adolescents in these institutions. In the conclusion, we reflect on the ethical dimensions of research. State ethnographies allow us to think about the future of qualitative research, and especially of ethnography, in relation to an ethical task that is constructed in the encounter with those others that shape the research processes. An ethical-political approach that gives agency to the participants in our research, despite the fact that living conditions in these institutions often violate people’s right to be heard. We wonder about the ethical and political relevance of the knowledge produced, considering that public information about some affected groups does not necessarily imply an improvement of their living conditions.
References
American Psychological Association. 2017. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Washington, D. C.: APA.
Abbott, Laura and TriciaScott. 2018. “Reflections on Researcher Departure: Closure of Prison Relationships in Ethnographic Research.” Nursing Ethics 26 (5): 1424-1441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733017747959
Abbott, Penelope, MichelleDiGiacomo, ParkerMagin, and WendyHu.2018. “A Scoping Review of Qualitative Research Methods Used with People in Prison.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 17 (1): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918803824
Altheide, David, MichaelCoyle, KatieDeVriese, and ChristopherSchneider. 2008. “Emergent Qualitative Document Analysis.” In Handbook of Emergent Method, edited by SharleneHesse-Biber and PatriciaLeavy, 127-154. New York: Guilford Press.
Bengtsson, Tea. 2014. “What Are Data? Ethnographic Experiences with Young Offenders.” Qualitative Research 14 (6): 729-744. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794113488125
Bourgois, Phillippe. 2005. “Más allá de una pornografía de la violencia.” In Jóvenes sin tregua: cultura y políticas de la violencia, edited by FranciscoFerrándiz and CarlesFeixa, 11-34. Barcelona: Anthropos.
Butler, Judith. 2017. Cuerpos aliados y lucha política hacia una teoría performativa de la asamblea. Barcelona: Paidós.
Chávez, Paulina and AnaVergara. 2018. “El problema del cuidado desde la perspectiva de los niños(as): análisis crítico del discurso sobre el cuidado entre padres e hijos(as).” Universitas Psychologica 17 (3): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy17-3.pcpn
Chereni, Admire. 2014. “Positionality and Collaboration during Fieldwork: Insights from Research with Co-nationals Living Abroad.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 15 (3): 1-21. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-15.3.2058
Ciordia, Carolina. 2021. “Modalidades de agencia de niños y jóvenes en las políticas de protección en el área metropolitana de Buenos Aires, Argentina.” Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología 42: 133-153. https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda42.2021.06
Denzin, Norman and YvonneLincoln, eds. 2018. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: SAGE.
Fassin, Didier, ed. 2017. Writing the World of Policing: The Difference Ethnography Makes. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Fassin, Didier, ed. 2015. At the Heart of the State. The Moral World of Institutions. London: Pluto Press.
Fassin, Didier. 2013. Enforcing Order: An Ethnography of Urban Policing. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Fassin, Didier. 2005. “L’ ordre moral du monde. Essai d’anthropologie de l’intolérable.” In Les constructions de l’intolérable, edited by PatriceBourdelais and DidierFassin, 17-50. Paris: La Découverte.
Flyvbjerg, Bent and María TeresCasado. 2004. “Cinco malentendidos acerca de la investigación mediante los estudios de caso.” Reis 106 (4): 33-62. https://doi.org/10.2307/40184584
Foucault, Michel. 1995. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of The Prison. New York: Random House.
Freshwater, Dawn, JaneCahill, ElisabethWalsh, TessaMuncey, and PhilipEsterhuizen. 2012. “Art and Science in Health Care Research: Pushing at Open Doors or Locked in Institutions?” Qualitative Health Research 22 (9): 1176-1183. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732312449206
García-Santesmases Fernández, Andrea. 2019. “Evocando deseos y revolviendo malestares: la im-pertinencia de las emociones en mi trabajo etnográfico.” Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología 35: 69-89. https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda35.2019.04
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures – Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.
Goffman, Irving. 1961. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. New York: Anchor Books.
Guber, Rosana. 2013. La articulación etnográfica: descubrimiento y trabajo de campo en la investigación de Esther Hermitte. Buenos Aires: Biblos.
Gustafson, Diana, JaniceParsons, and BrendaGillingham. 2019. “Writing to Transgress: Knowledge Production in Feminist Participatory Action Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 20 (2): 1-25. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-20.2.3164
Hammersley, Martyn and PaulAtkinson. 1995. Ethnography: Principles in Practice. New York: Routledge.
Haney, Lynne (2004). “Introduction: Gender, Welfare, and States of Punishment.” Social Politics 11 (3): 333-362. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxh040
Haraway, Donna. 1991. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge.
Harding, Sandra. 1996. Ciencia y feminismo. Madrid: Morata.
INAU (Instituto Nacional del Niño y Adolescente). 2019. Estudio de población y proyectos. Montevideo: INAU. https://www.inau.gub.uy/estudios-de-poblacion-yproyectos/download/6252/2184/16
James, Allison and AdrianJames. 2004. Constructing Childhood: Theory, Policy, and Social Practice.Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
James, Allison and AdrianJames. 2001. “Childhood: Toward a Theory of Continuity and Change.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 575 (1): 25-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271620157500102
Jewkes, Yvonne. 2011. “Autoethnography and Emotion as Intellectual Resources: Doing Prison Research Differently.” Qualitative Inquiry 18 (1): 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800411428942
Kristensen, Guro and MalinRavn. 2015. “The Voices Heard and the Voices Silenced: Recruitment Processes in Qualitative Interview Studies.” Qualitative Research 15 (6): 722-737. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794114567496
Langtree, Tanya, MelanieBirks, and NarelleBiedermann. 2019. “Separating ‘Fact’ from Fiction: Strategies to Improve Rigour in Historical Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 20 (2): 1-17. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-20.2.3196
Lincoln, Yvonne and EgonGuba. 1985. Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills; California: SAGE.
Lippert, Randy, KevinWalby, and BlairWilkinson. 2016. “Spins, Stalls, and Shutdowns: Pitfalls of Qualitative Policing and Security Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 17 (1): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-17.1.2411
López-Gallego, Laura. 2015. “Itinerarios de investigación construidos en una cárcel de adolescentes mujeres.” In Escrituras emergentes de las juventudes latinoamericanas, edited by AlfredoNateras, GabrielMedina, and MauricioSepúlveda, 215-240. Ciudad de México: Gedisa.
López-Gallego, Laura. 2014. “Proceso de reflexividad en un contexto de privación de libertad de adolescentes mujeres.” Psicologia & Sociedade 26 (3): 603-612. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-71822014000300009
López-Gallego, Laura, RaquelGaleotti-Galmés, and CeciliaMontes-Maldonado. 2018. “Gestión de las sexualidades en los sistemas penales: las adolescentes mujeres.” Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Niñez y Juventud 16 (1): 413-426. https://doi.org/10.11600/1692715x.16126
Medan, Marina, CarlaVillalta, and ValeriaLlobet. 2018. “Entre inercias burocráticas y evaluaciones sobre las familias: adolescentes privados de libertad.” Estudios Socio-Jurídicos 21 (1): 293-326. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/sociojuridicos/a.6309
Montes-Maldonado, Cecilia, LauraLópez-Gallego, and RaquelGaleotti-Galmés. 2018. “Adolescentes mujeres y medidas no privativas de libertad: Narrativas de una experiencia etnográfica.” Psicoperspectivas: Individuo y Sociedad 17 (2): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-vol17-issue2-fulltext-1212
Myers, Randolph. 2015. “Barriers, Blinders, and Unbeknownst Experts: Overcoming Access Barriers to Conduct Qualitative Studies of Juvenile Justice.” The Prison Journal 95 (1): 66-83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885514563279
Pillow, Wanda S.2015. “Reflexivity as Interpretation and Genealogy in Research.” Cultural Studies – Critical Methodologies 15 (6): 419-434. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708615615605
Pillow, Wanda S.2003. “Confession, Catharsis, or Cure? Rethinking the Uses of Reflexivity as Methodological Power in Qualitative Research.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 16 (2): 175-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839032000060635
Qvortrup, Jens, WilliamCorsaro, y MichaelHonig, eds. 2009. The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies. Houndmills; Basingstoke; Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Reiter, Keramet. 2014. “Making Windows in Walls: Strategies for Prison Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 20 (4): 417-428. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800413515831
Ritchie, Jane and JaneLewis, eds. 2003. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London: SAGE.
Roth, Wolff-Michael. 2004. “(Un-)Political Ethics, (Un-)Ethical Politics.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 5 (3): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-5.3.573
Roth, Wolff-Michael and HellaVon Unger. 2018. “Current Perspectives on Research Ethics in Qualitative Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 19 (3): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3155
Rowe, Abigail. 2014. “Situating the Self in Prison Research: Power, Identity, and Epistemology.” Qualitative Inquiry 20 (4): 404-416. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800413515830
Sharma, Aradhana and AkhilGupta, eds. 2006. The Anthropology of the State: A Reader. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
Sisto, Vicente2008. “La investigación como una aventura de producción dialógica: la relación con el otro y los criterios de validación en la metodología cualitativa contemporánea.” Psicoperspectivas. Individuo y Sociedad 7 (1): 114-136. https://www.psicoperspectivas.cl/index.php/psicoperspectivas/article/viewFile/54/1545
Sivakumar, Vineetha. 2018. “Prison Research: Challenges in Securing Permission and Data Collection.” Sociological Methods & Research 50 (1): 348-364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124118782534
Surmiak, Adrianna. 2018. “Confidentiality in Qualitative Research Involving Vulnerable Participants: Researchers’ Perspectives.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 19 (3): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3099
Thelen, Tatjana, LarissaVetters, and KeebetVon Benda-Beckmann. 2018. Stategraphy: Toward a Relational Anthropology of the State. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books.
Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 2001. “The Anthropology of the State in the Age of Globalization: Close Encounters of the Deceptive Kind.” Current Anthropology 42 (1): 125-138. https://doi.org/10.1086/318437
Umamaheswar, Janani. 2018. “Studying Homeless and Incarcerated Persons: A Comparative Account of Doing Field Research with Hard-to-Reach Populations.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 19 (3): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3053
Villalta, Carla. 2013. “Un campo de investigación: las técnicas de gestión y los dispositivos jurídico-burocráticos destinados a la infancia pobre en la Argentina.” Civitas – Revista de Ciências Sociais 13 (2): 245-268. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7289.2013.2.15482
Wacquant, Loïc. 2009. Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity. Durham [NC]: Duke University Press.
Watson, Tara and Emilyvan der Meulen. 2018. “Research in Carceral Contexts: Confronting Access Barriers and Engaging Former Prisoners.” Qualitative Research 19 (2): 182-198. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794117753353
Wiesenfeld, Esther. 2000. “Entre la prescripción y la acción: la brecha entre la teoría y la práctica en las investigaciones cualitativas.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 1 (2): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-1.2.1099
Yin, Robert. 1993. Applications of Case Study Research. London: SAGE.