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Trying to Return Home: A Trinidadian's Experience of Becoming a "Native" Ethnographer

Georgia State University, Atlanta, jfournillier{at}gsu.edu

In this article, the author draws on the experiences of doing an ethnography of mas' making practices in Trinidad Carnival mas' camps to explore and dialogue with her perception of self as a becoming native ethnographer and her valuing of the perceptions of a member of the community's view of her role as another colonizer. She addresses the tensions between contestation, arrogant perceptions, and deep dialogue; the various forms of identification that informed the research process; and the various ways in which she positioned herself. She adapts and interprets some of the theoretical concepts she gained as a member of the community of educational researchers as she explores the challenges she faced as a native-born Trinidadian, educator, mas' player, and a becoming ethnographer.

Key Words: fieldworking • mas' making • ethnography • identity • "native" ethnographer positionality • world-traveler • history in person

This version was published on April 1, 2009

Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 15, No. 4, 740-765 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1077800408330344


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