A Chat in the Yurt, discussing Central Asia and Europe – Episode XII – Research Positionality

Episode XII – Research Positionality

In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov (assistant professor at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, and EUCAM associate) and Kamila Smagulova (research fellow at PaperLab, and EUCAM associate) meet with Alexa Kurmanov, a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Alexa discusses challenges in doing sensitive field research in Central Asia. The discussion draws on her experiences in working in Kyrgyzstan (and earlier in the United States) on gender issues and blackness. What are the positionality challenges in doing field research in rural and urban Kyrgyzstan (from crossing a border to getting people to share views)? And how are Kyrgyzstan’s authorities and wider society responding to differing ethnicity and gender issues? 
 

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In this series of podcasts, we welcome guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, economic turns, and cultural highlights while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold.

Join EUCAM in the Yurt via SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts. Be part of the discussion by posing questions and sharing your thoughts on our social media Facebook, Mastodon, and LinkedIn. EUCAM is a programme of the Centre for European Security Studies (CESS), the Netherlands.