#agafia

The Case Study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68

Firstly, I would like to say that I found this documentary both heartbreaking and inspiring. This case study centres Agafia Lykov, and her life living alone in the Siberian wilderness. Her family fled Russia in 1936 and settled in the Taiga (what they call this biome of snow forests). Agafia was born in 1944 in this wilderness, where she has lived her entire life. Several of her family members tragically died after a group of geologists came and invaded their home. She is now the last living member of her family. Agafia is dedicated to her religion and her way of life. She does not enjoy the city, and although her daily chores can be hard to manage, and life in Siberia is not easy, she would not trade her lifestyle. She gets by with hard work. She stays kind through all the struggles she’s been through. 

The Techniques Used

The researchers traveled to the Taiga to witness Agafia’s and her neighbour Yerofei’s ways of life and to show viewers that humans living in harsh landscapes is still possible. The research techniques used here include in-depth interviews, which is a common technique used in qualitative research (Hay, 2016, p.5). The filmmakers used oral techniques, specifically participant observation. The oral techniques used here are highly individualistic (Hay, 2016, p.9), and focuses on Agafia’s particular existence. 

The Invisible Backpack

The documentary filmmaker definitely has an invisible backpack. We see their somewhat lavish travel gear (North Face backpacks), which is my first clue that these people have certain privileges that their research participants do not. Also, their ability to rent a private helicopter, and just the fact that they work for Vice. It was obvious that the filmmakers were not experienced in carrying firewood in the snow, and were only comfortable staying out in the cold for a few nights. I don’t mean to sound critical of them, I hold many of these same privileges, but I think it is important to be aware of these things so we can be critically reflexive as researchers. 

Ethical Considerations

The researchers must have had many ethical considerations while planning this project. Richie, in chapter 3 of the textbook, says that it is important to contextualize one’s work while doing cross-cultural research (Hay, 2016, p.59-60). They also say that it is important to recognize differences but to remember that we all have the same humanity (Hay, 2016, p.53). I think the filmmakers did these things. I presume they do not hold the same religious beliefs that Agafia does. She said in the film that to her, science is evil, and she could never live in a city because it is full of sin. It seemed like the filmmakers were not judgemental of these differences, as they did not comment on them. Chapter 3 also states that researchers have an ethical responsibility to understand the people they are researching (Hay, 2016, p.57). I believe these guys did this; we really got to hear about Agafia’s story and her truth.

How I Would Approach this Work

Chapter 3 says we should hold ourselves accountable to follow local cultural protocols (Hay, 2016, p. 56). Accountability in the research process I think is important. Agafia’s lifestyle is very different from mine as a university student in Canada. I would try to be as respectful as possible, culturally, when spending time with Agafia, and I would hold myself accountable when I make a mistake. The textbook outlines the construction of power and privilege and the difficulty of doing cross-cultural research as a university student (Hay, 2016, p.54-55). The authors of our textbook say that building trust, participating is reciprocity, and including elements of engagement is difficult when the research participants are worried about exploitation, or they just do not want to engage with the university. To address this issue, I would try to share as much with Agafia as she does with me. I believe this is also a part of being critically reflexive. I believe including my individual experiences into the conversation would help to create meaningful engagement. I would also want to engage in reciprocity, by bringing Agafia gifts, helping her with chores, and just being kind to her.

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