Methodological and epistemological challenges of researching co-ethnic migrations in a post-war area

Abstract

In this paper I look into the methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges I faced during multisited fieldwork research in the Serb community of southeast Kosovo (Gnjilane, Vitina and neighbouring villages, and in several towns in Serbia where displaced persons from this area are now living). The focus of the research into post-war discourse was on two forms of migration: 1. the colonisation of the population from the highland areas of south Serbia, which was carried out in Kosovo as part of agrarian reform in the period after World War I; 2. The migration of the Serb population from Kosovo into Serbia following the armed conflicts of 1999 and the establishment of a United Nations administration. In both cases these are mainly co-ethnic migrations: the settlers are of the same ethnicity as the population in the places they have moved to. Intra-ethnic relations and boundaries in the light of these migrations turned out to be an especially interesting field of research, which has opened up numerous methodological, epistemological and ethical questions. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177027: Multietnicitet, multikulturalnost, migracije - savremeni procesi]

Keywords

• migration
• field work
• methodology
• intra-ethnic relations
• Kosovo