Paper short abstract:

Several anthropologists have claimed that ambivalent feelings are always involved in fieldwork. Since I started interviewing Santiago pilgrims in 2003, the overwhelming majority of my informants have been males. What might be the reason for this? I will try to answer some questions about the role of feelings in field interviews.

Paper long abstract:

I am doing research into belief stories told by Santiago pilgrims. Several anthropologists have claimed that ambivalent feelings are always involved in fieldwork. As a place for fieldwork, the Camino de Santiago is very special in several ways: people have left their home and are travelling per agros; they are often vulnerable, lonely and insecure. It is common to experience intense feelings of intimacy with your fellow pilgrims. Since I started interviewing Santiago pilgrims in 2003, the overwhelming majority of my informants have been male. When I realised it, I asked myself what the reason for this might be.

It has been pointed out that the fact that the Grimm Brothers collected fairytales mostly from middle-class women probably influenced the content of the stories. If these women had told their stories to a female collector, would we have different fairytales?

I do not think that the content of my key informant's camino-legends would have been very different if he had been interviewed by a male researcher. However, I do believe that his enthusiasm to collaborate might have been smaller if he had not been affectionate about me.

In my presentation I will try to answer some questions about the role of feelings in the process of fieldwork.