Ethnographic intensity. Reflexivity and emotion in fieldwork

Abstract

This article focuses on thinking about the way in which ethnographic intensity operates during fieldwork, as a starting point for a comprehensive analysis of the anthropological research. This intensity is constructed from a long-term relationship of dialogue that builds trust and amplifies the participation of informants in a process of reflexive construction. The range of intensities is variable in space and time, according to some imponderables that happen during fieldwork. The ethnographic description of these uncertainties is the empirical basis that drives the processes of intensification of the relationships between the anthropologist and her informants.