Out of Place
Fieldwork and Positionality in Law and Society

Out of Place demonstrates how identity and positionality influence research design and methods in law and society.

Lynette J. Chua (Edited by), Mark Fathi Massoud (Edited by)

9781009338226, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 February 2025

240 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.3 cm, 0.36 kg

'A rich discussion of what it means … to reckon with and embrace marginalised positionalities and account for the ways these shape our research … The act of reading Out of Place is an emotional, embodied, and relational one: I laughed, cried, felt exhaustion, gratitude, shame, anger, and admiration. These responses are a testament to the integrity and sensitivity with which each author writes themselves into [the book] … In inviting each of us to consider our positionalities and how they influence the knowledge we produce, this book is an indispensable guide for generating richer accounts of law's power.' Ellie Whittingdale, Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies

Out of Place tells a new history of the field of law and society through the experiences and fieldwork of successful writers from populations that academia has historically marginalized. Encouraging collective and transparent self-reflection on positionality, the volume features scholars from around the world who share how their out-of-place positionalities influenced their research questions, data collection, analysis, and writing in law and society. From China to Colombia, India to Indonesia, Singapore to South Africa, and the United Kingdom to the United States, these experts record how they conducted their fieldwork, how their privileges and disadvantages impacted their training and research, and what they learned about the law in the process. As the global field of law and society becomes more diverse and an interest in identity grows, Out of Place is a call to embrace the power of positionality. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

1. Introduction: the power of positionality Mark Fathi Massoud
2. Research as accompaniment: reflections on objectivity, ethics, and emotions Leisy J. Abrego
3. Pretty and young in places where people get killed in broad daylight Sindiso Mnisi Weeks
4. Out of place studying China's sex industry Margaret L. Boittin
5. Feeling at home outside: embracing out-of-placeness in the study of law and resistance Lynette J. Chua
6. Out of place in an Indian court: notes on researching rape in a district court in gujarat (1996-1998) Pratiksha Baxi
7. At odds with everything around me: vulnerability politics and its (out of) place in the socio-legal academy Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen
8. Trigueño International law: on (most of) the world being (always, somehow) out of place Luis Eslava
9. Becoming a familiar outsider: multi-sited and multi-temporal research in plural legal contexts Keebet von Benda-Beckmann.

Subject Areas: Law & society [LAQ]