Namib Notes IV: When the field becomes personal and the personal becomes the field

Where does one draw the line between the personal and the professional in the fieldwork context? Is the researcher self the same as the ‘normal’ self? And I write ‘normal’ in quotation marks because what is ‘normal’ and what is ‘not normal’ about the self?  How much entanglements do we engage in as researchers between … Continue reading Namib Notes IV: When the field becomes personal and the personal becomes the field

Natal Notes III: The worldmaking possibilities of liminal spaces in academia

In this third instalment of the Natal Notes, I want to briefly reflect on the first half of my 2nd week stay at the Department of Tourism of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, Brazil. I title this reflection as 'the worldmaking possibilities of liminal spaces in academia'. This is … Continue reading Natal Notes III: The worldmaking possibilities of liminal spaces in academia

“But You Are Also Ghanaian, You Should Know”: the iceberg illusion and the story of a research article

So, as you read this research article, please remember that this success you are seeing did not happen overnight. It is only the tip of the iceberg underneath which has been 2 years of sordid hard work, sacrifice, dedication, disappointment and persistence. Don't give up on your manuscript, thesis, dissertation or whatever writing project you face. Keep pushing, keep grafting, and know that disappointments, heck even straight failure would come, but persist until you find a home for that manuscript. Just don't give up......

Researcher Reflexivity in Planning Research: My view from Elmina, Ghana*

As a Ghanaian keenly interested in the development of my country I feel very frustrated most times when I think of the considerable abuse of power coupled with the systemic and structural constraints to innovative thinking among planners and policy makers. Within this context of yearning for development in Ghana, the conduct of my fieldwork … Continue reading Researcher Reflexivity in Planning Research: My view from Elmina, Ghana*