Note on the Comments by Julian Hamann and Marion Näser-Lather

Abstract

The text serves as a response to the comments by Julian Hamann and Marion Näser-Lather on the article “Zwischen Abwehr und Öffnung. Der Feldzugang zu Berufungskommissionen als ethnografisches Experiment.” Their thoughts and the interdisciplinary dialogue, they establish, substantially deepens the ethnographic analysis of gender equality practices within academia. Hamann develops a nuanced typology of forms of resistance to ethnographic research and, in doing so, productively foregrounds the disciplinary distinction between sociology’s search for generalizable, systematized knowledge and cultural anthropology’s emphasis on the singular story, whose “poetic” condensation aims to render experience traceable and, ultimately, transferable beyond the individual case. He also underscores the ethical challenges inherent in conducting research within one’s “own field.” Näser-Lather expands the methodological discussion by introducing the concept of “sensitive fields” and by developing the notion of the “collateral audience.” Together, their contributions sharpen our understanding of institutional sensitivities, risks, and methodological choices that shape ethnographic work in academic contexts.