Remote Chay #7 : Asking sensitive questions: an ethical and methodological approach

In this episode, Yalkun Uluyol shares his experience in conducting interviews with various interlocutors (including senior diplomats, experts, members of parliaments, political elite) as a Turkey-based Uyghur researcher.

Yalkun analyses how his Uyghur identity affected his interviewees as he asked « sensitive » questions, here understood as question on politically sensitive topics deemed risky, but also questions that may reactive traumas and create pain. He also reflects on methodological issues when facing victims who may have high (and often unachievable) expectations about what you can do about their situation as a researcher.

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Remote Chay

How do you study places you cannot reach? When governments restrict access and surveillance makes traditional research impossible, scholars must find new ways to understand distant realities.

Remote Chay brings together experts to explore two key questions: How can researchers study inaccessible regions? And what can we learn about Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region—one of the world's most heavily surveilled territories?

Our guests share insights on remote ethnography, a methodological approach for researching areas where traditional fieldwork is impossible. From digital anthropology to diaspora interviews, we explore innovative ways to gather knowledge across barriers of distance, politics, and control.

Remote Chay isn't just a podcast—it's an ongoing scholarly dialogue. We invite listeners to engage: comment, share insights, and help refine these approaches for studying the unstudyable.

Remote Chay launched in 2024 as part of the EU-funded project "Remote Ethnography of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," a collaboration between Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, and Université libre de Bruxelles.

ULB Podcasts, les podcasts de l'Université libre de Bruxelles.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.