Object Sees the Subject: Political Anthropology of Sociological Fieldwork

Abstract

Anthropological critique of the scientific subject has discovered the political premises of the fieldwork situation for the social sciences. Among the essential parameters of the situation is the object's view of the fieldwork communication: how does object perceive and interpret the subject? Although this issue is crucial for understanding the nature of the field data, sociology seldom attempts such reflexive critique. This paper relies on the data gathered during a series of sociological studies of Russian small towns to reveal the key features of sociological field situation. We argue that field interaction is always already inscribed into particular political relations and structures. More specifically, we demonstrate that informants are likely to adopt a bottom-up view in the interaction with the researcher and frame it as a communication with the state. We discuss main parameters and scenarios enacted by this type of communication and show how it is supplemented by various tactics of 'slipping away' aiming to resist the state apparatus of social-scientific knowledge. We emphasize the significance of political-anthropological refection of fieldwork communication for proper interpretation of sociological data.