Le hasard peut-il bien faire les choses ?

Abstract

Through two examples of field experiences related to our doctoral research, one in anthropology with cocaine users said to be "hidden" or integrated, the other in geography and regarding migrations from sub-Saharan Africa to Turkey, we intend to discuss the relevance of the concept of serendipity in social sciences. If the concept is not much used in these disciplines, it nevertheless seems that it can account for some methodological postures for which the research process is designed to be versatile and flexible, as opposed to a type of formalism. Through examples from our own experiences, we will discuss the contributions of these postures on a methodological and theoretical level. Finally, we will also discuss the relevance of the concept, the issues it raises in our disciplines and the postures that seem to promote creative use of the unexpected in research and therefore the experience of serendipity.

Keywords

• serendipity
• field
• posture
• innovation
• interpretation