Link to join Webinar: https://uio.zoom.us/j/62370649694
Research can be rewarding, but it can also put academics at risk. Research ethics boards (REBs) stresses the importance of participants' informed consent, safety, and option to withdraw from the process at any point. While little acknowledgement is given to researchers who face potential exposure to violence, grief, human rights violations, far-right extremism, terrorism, and personal accounts of conflict whether in the field or during archival research.
This presentation unravels the hidden dangers researchers face in the field and brings awareness to 'research trauma,' a phenomenon that arises out of such studies. It examines the impacts and manifestations that research trauma has on a researcher's personal life, productivity, and mental health, and who is the most 'at-risk' in experiencing it. In doing so, it offers practical strategies for individuals, supervisors, and institutions to stay safe and supported while doing important work.
Clare McKendry is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Waterloo in the Department of Political Science. Her dissertation research centers on Taiwan’s interest construction in the context of the South China Sea disputes. She writes extensively on territorial and maritime disputes in the Arctic and East Asia, foreign policy, and de facto statehood. This work has also shaped her considerations on the impact of conducting sensitive research on academic researchers in political science.
The webinar series on Researching the Far Right: Methods and Ethics is co-organized by C-REX and the Canadian Network for Research on Security, Extremism and Society (CANSES). The series aims to facilitate a much needed discussion about the methodological, ethical, political, practical and professional challenges that arise when researching the far right.
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