“When will fieldwork open up again?” Beginning a project in pandemic times

Abstract

The entire world population was taken by surprise by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has transformed our lives through its impact on health systems, the economy, on work and the way that we work, and has created feelings of uncertainty about the future. We intend to reflect on how the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed academic life in general, but primarily how it has affected our research projects, given the closure of the field of study and the isolation of interlocutors. We reflect on the adoption of digital methods to communicate with our interlocutors and interviewees and its implications and ask ourselves when fieldwork will open up once more.