Thinking through payment in fieldwork Changing the narrative about money and reciprocity

Ethnographic research has long illuminated diverse economic relations. Yet ethnographers have said little about an economic relation that they themselves often rely on: payment in fieldwork. Indeed, the particularities of monetary exchange between ethnographers and their interlocutors often remain hidden—or taboo. This is so even though thinking through reciprocity is increasingly important in discussions of anthropological research ethics and the discipline's colonial legacies. Traditionally, fieldwork relies on long-term, intimate relationships that are often idealized, suggesting that money might taint ethnographic interactions. Yet, for anthropologists, it is our job to pay attention to taboos and unpack them. Here, we aim to advance critical discussion on payment in fieldwork and its implications. Given that ethnographic knowledge is always contextual, such discussion should be integral to equitable ethnographic research practices, creating theoretical space to engage with research participants’ expectations of payment.