Volume 4, No. 2 – May 2003

(Hi)stories on (Hi)stories. Historical-Anthropological Fieldwork as Reflexive Process

Ernst Langthaler (Austria)

Abstract: This article discusses possibilities and limits of reflexive field research as exemplified by a historical-anthropological community study. Such reflexive approaches accept the subjectivity of the researcher as a condition of scientific cognition. In manifold situations the discourse of the researcher on the local history of everyday life in the 20th century in general and especially on the Nazi era clashes with prevailing memory discourses. Such "obstructions" turn out to be opportunities to reflect on the conditions and consequences of the researcher's own practice more adequately. The gained insights in the possibilities of reflexive fieldwork also clarify its limits, e.g. the reader's signifying power over the author's texts.

Key words: reflexivity, fieldwork, history of everyday life, local history, National Socialism, community study, memory, reception of texts

This contribution is only available as a full text in the German language. German text

Volume 4, No. 2   Table of Contents

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