Ethnomusicologist as a subject of her own research: uses of the reflexive approach in the research of Balkan music in the Czech Republic
Abstract
This paper examines specific forms of what anthropology (ethnomusicology) calls reflexivity and it is based on research of 'Balkan music' in Prague. The author is also a musician in the given 'soundscape' (following Shelemay 2006).
Her role as a participating observer opens a specific way of using the reflexivity to achieve valid and relevant results of an ethnographical work. Ethnographic reflexivity cannot be understood as a one-time introspection, directed towards a clarification of the researcher's position in the field (dichotomy insider-outsider).
It must rather be a separate dimension of the ongoing research: it starts with an activity in the given field, continues with a constant data-processing, use of theoretical texts and, finally, with an analysis (Abu Ghosh & Stöckelová, 2013). An ethnographer always affects her field (Murphy 1998), and she must research it as such.
Being a part of the research field brings in several advantages: an intimate knowledge of the field, its language, social actors, and issues. On the other hand, the approach 'going-native' is far from being a risk-free one: a potential omission of important moments in the analysis and interpretation is the most obvious one (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995).
As an active member of the soundscape, the author directly (co-)creates the field; hence, she is facing dilemmas associated with ethics and engagement: 'To what extent am I being objective, if it is also me who (co-)creates what I later research?' and even: 'Do I use my colleagues-musicians?' The paper is partly based on the method 'Autoetnography' (Chang 2009), complemented with Bigenho's 'Intimate Distance' approach (Bigenho 2012). The author of this paper uses a self-reflexive approach to observe herself and her own attitudes towards the others in such a complicated terrain.
She thus puts herself into a specific role which goes way beyond the dichotomy insider-outsider.