“And you didn’t tell them that they were getting robbed!?” : emotional labour, ethnography and danger

Ellis, AJ

Abstract

This chapter considers emotional labour during the conduct of dangerous ethnography. Specifically, the chapter draws upon the author’s experiences of immersive ethnography over prolonged periods of time with individuals involved in violence and a range of other illicit activities. It is claimed in the chapter that such research not only places the researcher in challenging situations but has the potential to intersect with aspects of their biography and prior emotional experience, leading to the emergence of feelings that must be managed effectively during these encounters and afterwards upon exiting to the field. In particular, the chapter seeks to reflect upon instances where the researcher’s own emotional labour employed to manage their presence during the research, is then subject to scrutiny by others outside of the field.

Citation

Ellis, A. (2020). “And you didn’t tell them that they were getting robbed!?” : emotional labour, ethnography and danger. In J. Phillips, J. Waters, C. Westaby, & A. Fowler (Eds.), Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429055669-12

• Online Publication Date: Jun 4, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 22, 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 22, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Book Title: Emotional Labour in Criminal Justice and Criminology
• ISBN: 9780367152017-(print);-9780429055669-(ebook)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429055669-12
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429055669-12
• Related Public URLs: https://www.routledge.com/; https://www.routledge.com/Emotional-Labour-in-Criminal-Justice-and-Criminology/Phillips-Waters-Westaby-Fowler/p/book/9780367152017