The journey in the ethnographic research. Some reflections

In this article, I explore the significance of travel to anthropological practice in three related senses. First, anthropology and travelling are related from the discipline's foundation, not only in terms of the format of fieldwork established but also because of the comparison that displacement produces. In this sense, travel becomes constitutive of the anthropological perspective through comparison. Second, the anthropologist in the field stands as a foreigner, a position that has consequences for his or her perspective and to the relations established with the people studied. Thirdly, certain unequal patterns of relationship between researcher and researched were traditionally developed and have begun to be questioned in the last three decades. Finally, I use my own research trajectory to illustrate the points made.