Tales from the (disrupted) field: Contemplating interruptions, disruptions, and ethnography amidst a pandemic

Abstract

Many ethnographers had to reconceptualize or withdraw from their fieldwork due to COVID-19. While the process of exiting the field has always interested ethnographers, the pandemic has spurred further thinking about the complexity of this element of the research process. This paper adds to the conversations around leaving a field site by unpacking the different situations that can trigger departure. Using data from our experience conducting ethnographic fieldwork before and during the pandemic to further our understanding of the complexity of exiting the field, we explore the concept of field collapsing events by elaborating on the differences between interruptions and disruptions. It is not the case that one form of stoppage has more weight, merit, or impact on an ethnographic project. Instead, we argue that to parse out the complexities of exiting the field, we must create more clarity around the kinds of exits that ethnographers experience.