 |
 |
****************************************************** * http://www.anthropologymatters.com * * A postgraduate project comprising online journal, * * online discussions, teaching and research resources * * and international contacts directory. * ****************************************************** *Fielding challenges, challenging the field: The methodologies of mobility* EASA Anthropology and Mobility Network Workshop 27-28 September 2013, Oxford UK Ethnography has long been the hallmark of anthropology, and most social science disciplines now routinely employ qualitative ethnographic research methods. While the ethnographic method has adapted to shifts within the discipline (e.g. emphasis on participant observation, textual and interpretive approaches, use of audio-visual materials), growing interest in mobility-related research prompts new methodological questions in the field(s) of anthropology. Novel ethnographic spaces that comprise multiple scales, diverse geographies, extremely mobile actors and disembodied information and communication technologies (ICTs) are providing fodder for new anthropological horizons, as well as spawning new challenges and obstacles engendered by such fresh forms of scholarly enquiry. We invite papers that explore, from a variety of theoretical and empirical angles, how ethnographers are responding to questions being raised in the study of mobility. We are interested, in particular, in the ‘zones of awkward engagement’ (cf. Tsing) between mobility's methods and the production of ethnographic theory, and the ways in which ethnographies of movement may provide novel theoretical horizons for anthropology. We welcome papers that originally grapple with mobility at any scale and in both classic and unexpected settings. Topics might include (but are in no sense limited to): · Carrying out longitudinal studies or multi-sited fieldwork, and collecting big (and small) data from mobile subjects and geographies · Conducting research with reduced-mobility (e.g. disabled, infirm or elderly) or mobile (e.g. expatriates, forced migrants, pilgrims, ascetics, nomads) communities · The role and ethics of certain forms of data production (e.g. state surveillance, technological governance, documenting illegal migration) · Exploring mobility’s imaginary components (e.g. the desire and expectation of future mobility, planned-but-never-actualised movements) · The necessary mobility and rootlessness of the ethnographic researcher herself · How various new technologies (e.g. mobile phones, Evernote, Skype) change both the craft of doing and writing ethnography – across both traditional ethnographic settings as well as in virtual, online and other digitally-mediated environments. Confirmed speakers and discussants include: *Michaela Benson *(Sociology, U York) *Sondra Hausner *(Theology/Anthropology, U Oxford) *Hans Lucht *(Anthropology, U Copenhagen), *Eric Meyer* (Oxford Internet Institute, U Oxford) and *Noel Salazar *(Anthropology, U Leuven). The workshop is co-sponsored by: European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA), Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) and Qualitative Methods Hub for the Social Sciences Division (OxQualHub), Oxford, and Cultural Mobilities Research (CuMoRe), U Leuven. It will be co-convened by: *Jamie Coates *(Australian National U), *Alice Elliot* (U Leuven) and *Roger Norum* (U Oxford). Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words to [log in to unmask] by *Monday 20th May, 2013*. Be sure to include your name, institutional affiliation, contact details and paper title in your email. There will be a nominal £10 fee for workshop attendees to cover basic costs (e.g. lunches, tea, etc.), but funding towards travel and accommodation is available for EASA-member participants. For more detailed information on the workshop, please visit http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/events/forthcoming/fielding-challenges ************************************************************* * Anthropology-Matters Mailing List * * To join this list or to look at the archived previous * * messages visit: * * http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML * * If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all * * those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: * * [log in to unmask] * * * * Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new * * CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com * * an international directory of anthropology researchers * * To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and * * go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page. * * ***************************************************************