Encountering the Unexpected: Appropriating the Roles of Researcher, Teacher, and Advocate in a Drug Study in Madagascar

As we learn and teach in introductory courses, one of the key assets of the anthropological perspective is the ability to remain flexible in order to accommodate the unknown, especially in fieldwork. Although Lisa Gezon had planned on conducting straight academic research in northern Madagascar this past summer (2007), this research unexpectedly allowed her also to embrace the roles of professor and advocate. Although Alex Totomarovario had planned on being mainly a research facilitator, he found himself directly engaged in research and faced with issues of advocacy—or at least expert status. He also benefitted from this research experience by envisioning how getting his students involved in academic research can further his program's goal of preparing students of the English language for professional employment. This has encouraged us to think about both research and teaching, or "knowledge transfer," as important forms of anthropological practice. It also raises issues of anthropological ethics (and pro...