with Virginie Arantes; Cai Chen; Vanessa Frangville; & Pierre Petit.

EASt is pleased to invite you to its "Back from Fieldwork" seminar, designed as a space for discussion and exchange about fieldwork experiences. The seminar will feature insights into ecological governance, cultural heritage, and ethnographic methodologies, drawing from research conducted in diverse contexts such as China, Laos, and Congo.

Presentations:

• Virginie Arantes: Between Official Discourse and Citizen Aspirations: Hainan's Tropical National Park Virginie Arantes will share findings from her research in Hainan's Tropical National Park, focusing on the tensions between the centralized ecological civilization model promoted by the Chinese Communist Party and the diverse aspirations, uses, and values of local citizens.

• Cai Chen: Ethnographer as Bricoleur: Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Boundaries in Field Research In this presentation, I aim to share my methodological reflections on how ethnographers act as "boundary bricoleurs"—a concept that also serves as the analytical lens for my dissertation—throughout the field research process. This idea of "boundary bricolage" goes beyond being a practical response to the fragmented nature of contemporary fieldwork. It is also a deeply reflexive exercise, requiring ethnographers to critically assess how precarious working conditions shape their research practices. Simultaneously, it highlights their capacity to exercise agency in negotiating field relationships and generating fresh insights through "unideal" or unconventional fieldwork experiences.

• Vanessa Frangville: Memory Narrative, Cultural Heritage, and Transmission in Sino-Lao Communities Vanessa Frangville will discuss findings from her fieldwork in Vientiane, Laos, exploring the role of key community spaces such as temples, schools, and cemeteries in shaping and transmitting Sino-Lao cultural heritage, particularly in the pre-1975 period.

• Pierre Petit: Buddhist Talismans in Contemporary Laos: Agency of Actors and Objects Pierre Petit will explore how Buddhist talismans function as both objects of devotion and agents of social relationships, shaped by their origins, uses, and the influence of new digital technologies.

We look forward to welcoming you to this seminar and sharing these diverse research perspectives.

Wesdnesday 22nd January 2025, from 10 am until 12 pm

TBC