A Prelude to Ethnography with Children: Ethical and Methodological Foundations for Multimodal Research with Children in Serbia

This presentation examines the ethical and methodological foundations of ethnographic research with children in Serbia, situating local practices within broader international debates. While this topic has attracted significant global interest, it remains underexplored in local anthropological literature. The analysis focuses on two interrelated domains: the ethical challenges of engaging children as research participants and the methodological questions surrounding multimodal approaches, with particular attention to drawing as a material method. First, we review how ethnologists in Serbia have historically conducted research among and with children, and consider the representational and interpretive practices that have shaped this field. We then discuss key ethical considerations inherent in research with children, including power imbalances, risks of romanticization or adult-imposed interpretations, and the need to ensure that children genuinely understand their participation. Emphasis is placed on dialogical and participatory strategies, such as jointly interpreting visual materials, as well as on commitment to relevant ethical and legal frameworks in Serbia and internationally, particularly regarding consent and assent, voluntariness, and privacy. In parallel, we give special attention to drawing as a multimodal research tool, situating it within the longer visual tradition in which it played a central role in ethnographic documentation prior to the advent of photography and film. Shifting the focus from ethnographers’ drawings to those produced by child interlocutors, the paper examines how children’s visual expressions can contribute to contemporary ethnological and anthropological inquiry. We argue that children’s drawings offer valuable insights into their lived worlds and function as a meaningful multimodal tool for developing methodologically innovative research practices.