Accomplice, patron, go-between? A role to play with poor migrant Qur’anic students in northern Nigeria

Hoechner, Hannah (2018) Accomplice, patron, go-between? A role to play with poor migrant Qur’anic students in northern Nigeria. Qualitative Research, 18 (3). 307–321. ISSN 1468-7941

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Abstract

What does it mean to conduct ethnographic research in a context where inequalities are pervasive? Drawing on experiences conducting research with poor migrant Qur’anic students (almajirai) in Kano, northern Nigeria, this article explores the challenges of establishing productive and ethical research relationships with informants whose social and socioeconomic status is significantly lower than that of the researcher. The article argues that large socioeconomic and educational inequalities demand a rethinking of the subject positions available to researchers in such contexts. In the article, I consider in turn my roles as an ‘accomplice’ of exclusionary elite behaviour, as a ‘patron’ for my informants, and as a ‘go-between’ facilitating access for them to otherwise inaccessible ‘social microworlds’.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Global Environmental Justice
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	02 Apr 2019 15:30
Last Modified:	13 May 2023 00:52
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/70450
DOI:	10.1177/1468794117719493

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