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The 800-Pound Gaijin in the Room: Strategies and Tactics for Conducting Fieldwork in Japan and Abroad

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2009

Daniel P. Aldrich
Daniel P. Aldrich
Affiliation:
Purdue University
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Extract

Two ideographs make up the Japanese word gaijin, the first meaning “outside” or “out of place” and the second meaning “person.” Hence gaijin literally means an outsider or foreigner, and in polite Japanese most speakers opt for the slightly less brusque sounding gaikokujin, which places the emphasis on the foreign nation (koku) from which the alien comes. But as political scientists doing fieldwork abroad, we are all foreigners, if not because of superficial differences such as pigmentation, accent, or dress, then because of our motivations and goals—gaining information, generating and testing hypotheses, and so forth. When we speak to informants abroad—whether in Japan, India, France, or elsewhere—to further our research, we may see ourselves as 800-pound gorillas who can bring conversations to a halt, generate unwanted propositions from nearby residents, and induce stares and pointing.

Type
Symposium
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 299 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 2009

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