Methodological Approaches in Human Rights: Gendered Practices as Rituals of Knowledge

Dr. Dragomir presents the work she conducted with a semi-nomadic community in Tamil Nadu, South India. Using her ethnographic experience, in this talk she reflects on the role that her gender played in gaining access into the field and how it shaped the data co-generation. The presentation is based on three years of fieldwork Dr. Dragomir conducted with the Narrikurovars, a community also called by others as “Gypsy.” Describing in detail one encounter in which she was taken by surprise and became a part of a beautification ritual, she reveals how moments of entering the field are gendered rituals of knowledge that need to be explored, reflected upon and explained.

Dr. Dragomir received her Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in Politics in 2014. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Institute for the Study of Human Rights and a consultant with the United Nations. Previously she taught and led international programs and research projects in the U.S, India, Romania, Moldova and Poland, where she trained students, teachers and practitioners in conducting fieldwork.

Pizza will be served!