Modos de hacer etnográficos y categorías teóricas en torno a experiencias cotidianas de discriminación étnico-racial en Viedma (Río Negro, Argentina)

This article traces the relationships between the research object, methodological strategies, and theoretical construction, as they evolved throughout my doctoral research, conducted between 2015 and 2022 in Viedma (Río Negro, Argentina) with Mapuche individuals and those who acknowledge ancestry from that people. Through a committed ethnography focused on observing and participating in activities and projects developed by Mapuche collectives, as well as interviews with participants involved in these efforts, the research centered on the ethnic-racial othering experienced and exerted upon the Mapuche people. Over the course of the work, I came to understand that many people’s uncertainty about how to name or position themselves publicly was connected to circulating stereotypes concerning both being Mapuche and being Argentine. These stereotypes intertwine with discourses around purity, mestizaje, and loss of identity, operating through a logic of dual ambivalence or discrimination that gives rise to everyday expressions of racism steeped in suspicion. The ambiguous and implicit ways in which racialization is expressed and experienced—through bodily practices, emotions, and silences more than verbal discourse—influenced methodological shifts that moved beyond the traditional non-directiveness and sensitivity to unpredictability in ethnography, toward a focus on everyday situations and moments. In conclusion, ambivalence and ambiguity emerged not only as theoretical categories but also as central methodological approaches in my work. This article contributes to discussions about the relationship between object, theory, and methodology in ethnographic practice and the ways in which practices of racialization and racism can be documented and analyzed in contexts where they are denied at the level of verbal discourse.