FELTARBEJDETS FORPLIGTELSER: Deltagelse og kritik blandt sateré-mawé-immigranter i Manaus, Brasilien

Resumé

Current studies of human poverty and

suffering seem to lack reflexivity on the

kinds of alternatives or solutions that

might be found in the local context of

study. By reference to experiences from

fieldwork among indigenous Sateré-Mawé

immigrants in Manaus, Brazil it is illustrated

how “participation” as an anthropological

method is more than a tool for collecting

ethno-graphic data. It is a practice like any

other, involving social obligations towards

our informants and a necessary engagement

in the field of study. As an inseparable

part of the production of anthropological

know-ledge this engagement should be

more explicitly addressed and reflected

in anthropological writing and in the very

idea of the anthropological project. If

this engagement is properly reflected and

addressed, a constructive anthropological

critique might evolve that points to viable

solutions to the social problems and sufferings

encountered. Re-inscribing “participation”

in the anthropological project as fundamental

to any knowledge might also remind us that

fieldwork, like any other social engagement,

is fraught with social obligations that do

not vanish with theoretical distance and

abstraction.