Conference: Researching Violence and Conflict: Methodological Considerations

Conference

Researching Violence and Conflict: Methodological Considerations

04-05 July 2008

SOAS, Room B111 (Brunei gallery building)

Friday 04 July

Time / Panels/Speakers
9am / Introduction/Welcome
Christopher Cramer, Convenor
9.30-11am / ETHICS
Uncertain Ethics: Researching Civil War in Sudan,Sharon Hutchinson,University of Wisconsin
When the ethical line is blurred: the case of DarfurFatima Hadji, ICAR, GeorgeMasonUniversity
Violence in Post-conflict Societies: What Justice for Perpetrators and Victims?Chris Agora,University of Bradford and UN mission in Liberia
Research in Violent Humanitarian Aid Contexts: Methodological Difficulties and Ethical DilemmasJoelma Almeida, Africa Studies Centre, Lisbon
11-11.30 / Coffee Break
11.30-1pm / OBJECTIVITY
Researching conflicts in Africa: a researcher’s account of Ife-Modakeke, NigeriaOlajide O Akanji, Redeemer’s University, Nigeria
Gender, sexuality, ‘culture’, power and violence: this African feminist interventions in research methodologyDanai Mupotsa,School of Arts, Monash South Africa
Strategies to overcome asymmetric data collection in contested borderlands: Evidence from fieldwork in Eritrea and in Ethiopia in the aftermath of the 1998-2000 border warAlexandra Dias, Centro Estudos Africanos, Lisbon
Hidden Agendas in conflict research: Informants’ interests and objectivity of research in the Niger DeltaUkoha Ukiwo, Port HarcourtUniversity
1-2pm / Lunch
2-3.30pm / HUMAN SECURITY
Methodological issues in researching separated childrenGiorgia Dona, University of East London
Challenges of researching the Extent of mercenarism and its impact on human security in AfricaSabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies, Open University
Researching conflict: how violence shaped fieldwork in northern MozambiqueAna Margarida Santos, OxfordUniversity
3.30-4pm / Tea Break
4-5.30pm / RESEARCH FOR APPLIED
CONTEXTS
Researching the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Northern Uganda: the challenge of action researchMargaret Angucia, University of Groningen, The Netherlands/Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi, Uganda
Doing research in a conflict zone while working for an NGO
Nanette Barkey, Iowa University
Ethics and security needs assessments: a background paper in support of field operationsDerek Miller & Ron Scollon, UNIDIR
David Buchbinder, HRW
5.30-7.30 / Reception, Brunei Suite

Saturday 05 July

Time / Panels/Speakers
9.30-11am / STORIES & CONVERSATIONS
Studying and/or disproving rumours in Northern Ghana Martijn Wienia,LeidenUniversity
Dealing with narratives on violence in Eastern TurkeyNerina Weiss,University of Oslo
A collaborating chronicler? Researching tales, truth and the Lord’s Resistance ArmyMareike Schomerus,London School of Economics
Methodological conversations: researching peaceful co-existence in NigeriaSamuel A Kafewo,AhmaduBelloUniversity, Zaria, Nigeria
11-11.30 / Coffee Break
11.30-1pm / INTERSECTIONS OF ETHICS
AND METHODS
Humboldt under fire: the delicate terrains of violent fieldwork geographiesTobias Hagmann, University of Zurich
Methods of Social Enquiry in Ethnographic Conflict Settings: The Case of Kavango, NamibiaPamela Claassen,University ofNamibia
Creativity and survival in Congo’s ‘informal’ economy: some methodological considerationsTimothy Raeymaekers, University of Ghent
Three Layers of Silence: Counterinsurgency in Northeastern Ethiopia’
Laura Hammond, SOAS
1-1.30 / Closing Remarks
Johan Pottier, Convenor