PACTS AND ETHNOGRAPHIES: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON INITIATING INTRA-CEMETERY RESEARCH

The following research proposes a theoretical-methodological reflection on initiating ethnographic research in three cemeteries in Argentina and conducting fieldwork specifically within the framework of government institutions that these sites depend on. In 2022, I began my doctoral research on post-mortem trajectories of bodies with no identity in three cemeteries: Chacarita Cemetery, in Buenos Aires, Morón Cemetery, in the Province of Buenos Aires, and San Vicente Cemetery, in Córdoba. Although I understood the difficulties of accessing different state institutions, I wasn’t aware of the administrative obstacles and complexities I would face. The back and forth of documents, permits, phone calls, and refusals made me reflect on the conformation of the ‘field’ and the ‘ethnographic pact’ in my practice. These questions, which are still being developed, on the one hand, recover the importance of generating an agreement between the researcher and the object of study. On the other hand, demonstrates the need to understand bureaucratic logic before embarking on any research path related to state-related institutions.