Workshop: Rethinking Anthropological Practice through Dialogue with Local Research Assistants

Date

Sunday October 25th, 2026, from 13H00 to 16H00

Venue

Institute for Global Area Studies (Room 427 of Research and Lecture Bldg.), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Notes

  • Languages: English and French (consecutive interpreting available)
  • Free / No registration
  • Flyer (English / French / Japanese)

Speaker

  • Charles-Jones Nsonkali (Independent consultant)
  • Simon Pierre Etoga (Association Tam Tam mobile)

Moderator

  • Takanori Oishi (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
  • Misa-Nomoto Hirano (Kyoto University)

Abstract

Anthropological fieldwork relies greatly on local research assistants. Working between researchers and local communities, they become involved in the challenges and complications that arise in the field. What does anthropological fieldwork look like from their perspective?
We invite Mr. Charles-Jones Nsonkali and Mr. Simon Pierre Etoga, who have worked with researchers from Japan for more than thirty years in Cameroon. Drawing on their experience as research assistants, they will reflect on fieldwork and research from their perspectives. A roundtable discussion with researchers and students who have worked with them will follow. Through this dialogue, we will reconsider the relationships among researchers, research assistants, and local communities, and explore more collaborative research practices in anthropology and other field-based sciences.

Program

  • 13:00-13:10 Introduction
  • 13:10-14:40 Dialogue talk session
    ・Anthropology of forest peoples
    　Charles-Jones Nsonkali, Takanori Oishi
    ・Urban anthropology
    　Simon Pierre Etoga, Misa Hirano
  • 14:40-15:00 Coffee Break
  • 15:00-16:00 Round table session
    Charles-Jones Nsonkali, Simon Pierre Etoga, Takanori Oishi, Misa Hirano, Shio Togiya

Organizer / Co-organizers

  • Organizer: KAKENHI: Long-term dynamics of population, land use, and forest resource use in a multi-ethnic society of Southeastern Cameroon (24K15429: Oishi Takanori)
  • Co-Organizers: TUFS Field Science Commons, African Studies Center-TUFS, Center for African Area Studies-Kyoto University, FENICS

Speaker profiles

  • Charles-Jones Nsonkali
    Resides in Bertoua, in the Eastern Region of Cameroon. Whilst working in agriculture, he has supported the research of dozens of International academics, students and journalists as a research assistant. Since the 2010s, he has been involved in social movements advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples (the Baka). He is fluent in English, French, Baka and Bakwele.
  • Simon Pierre Etoga
    Resides in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Whilst working as a photojournalist, he has assisted dozens of researchers and students, primarily in urban areas. In 1997, he founded NGO "Association Tam Tam mobile" and has been engaged in action research aimed at improving living conditions in the slums spreading across urban areas.
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