Biographical Research and Global Sociology: Fieldwork In Turbulent Times

The relationship between biographical research, Global Sociology and postcolonial critiques has been a topic of discussion for some time. During the whole research process, this entails reflexivity and paying closer attention to the interdependencies that have developed historically between world regions. It also involves theorizing from and about the Global South and linking social processes across different scales: local, regional and global.

Global fieldwork using biographical methods is a situated practice influenced by the very conditions it seeks to study. These turbulent conditions include rising nationalism, strict border controls, increasing distrust of foreign researchers, and conflicts that render entire regions inaccessible or unsafe. Each of these dimensions affects how we gain access to the field, generate data, build and sustain research relationships with participants, and ultimately understand global knowledge production.

In this session, we invite papers that engage with the practice of biographical research in a Global Sociology of turbulent times. How do shifting global power relations challenge established research practices? How do global developments influence the ways we generate knowledge through the lens of biographical research, and, in turn, how does our knowledge production respond to them?

Possible thematic foci include:

• Fieldwork in turbulent times, addressing access, ethics, safety, and research relationships in biographical research
• Methodological challenges of doing biographical research in turbulent times
• The interdependence of small life-worlds and large-scale global processes
• Significance of empirical findings in turbulent times