Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research
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CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH Challenges and Solutions in Ethnographic Research: Ethnography with a Twist seeks to rethink ethnography ‘outside the box’ of its previous tradition and to develop ethnographic methods by critically discussing process, ethics, impact and knowl- edge production in ethnographic research. This interdisciplinary edited volume argues for a ‘twist’ that supports openness, courage, and creativity to develop and test innovative and unconventional ways of thinking and doing ethnography. ‘Ethnography with a twist’ means both an intentional aim to conduct ethnographic research with novel approaches and methods but also sensitivity to recognize and creativity to utilize different kinds of ‘twist moments’ that ethnographic research may create for the researcher. This edited volume critically evaluates new and old methodological tools and their ability to engage with questions of power difference. It proposes new collaborative methods that allow for co-production and co-creation of research material as well as shared conceptual work and wider distribution of knowledge. The book will be of use to ethnographers in humanities and social science disciplines including sociology, anthropology and communication studies. Tuuli Lähdesmäki is a Senior Researcher and an Adjunct Professor working at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto is a Post-doctoral Researcher working at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Viktorija L.A. Cˇ eginskas is a Post-doctoral Researcher working at the Depart- ment of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Aino-Kaisa Koistinen is a Post-doctoral Researcher working at the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH Ethnography with a Twist Edited by Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Viktorija L.A. Cˇeginskas and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Eerika Koskinen- Koivisto, Viktorija L.A. Cˇ eginskas and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Viktorija L.A. Cˇ eginskas and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-37688-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-37685-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-35560-8 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Taylor & Francis Books CONTENTS List of illustrations viii List of contributors x Preface xviii Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Viktorija L.A. Cˇ eginskas and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen Introduction: Ethnography with a twist xx Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto, Tuuli Lähdesmäki and Viktorija L. A. ˇ Ceginskas PART I New collaborative practices in ethnography 1 1 Poly-space: Creating new concepts through reflexive team ethnography 3 ˇ Johanna Turunen, Viktorija L. A. Ceginskas, Sigrid Kaasik- Krogerus, Tuuli Lähdesmäki and Katja Mäkinen 2 Embodied adventures: An experiment on doing and writing multisensory ethnography 21 Eerika Koskinen-Koivisto and Tytti Lehtovaara vi Contents 3 Ramblings: A walk in progress (or the minutes of the International Society of the Imaginary Perambulator) 36 Matthew Cheeseman, Gautam Chakrabarti, Susanne Österlund- Pötzsch, Simon Poole, Dani Schrire, Daniella Seltzer and Matti Tainio PART II Visuality and multi-modality in ethnography 53 4 Participant-induced elicitation in digital environments 55 Riitta Hänninen 5 Ethical challenges of using video for qualitative research and ethnography: State of the art and guidelines 68 Marina Everri, Maxi Heitmayer, Paulius Yamin-Slotkus and Saadi Lahlou 6 Drawing and storycrafting with Estonian children: Sharing experiences of mobility 84 Pihla Maria Siim 7 Sharpening the pencil: A visual journey towards the outlines of drawing as an autoethnographical method 100 Marika Tervahartiala PART III Ethnography of power dynamics in challenging contexts 115 8 Retrospective ethnographies: Twisting moments of researching commemorative practices among volunteers after the refugee arrivals to Europe 2015 117 Marie Sandberg 9 Ethnographic challenges to studying the poor in and from the global South 131 Laura Stark 10 Elite interviewing: The effects of power in interactions. The experiences of a northern woman 146 Lotta Lounasmeri Contents vii PART IV Embodied and affective ethnography 159 11 Memory narrations as a source for historical ethnography and the sensorial-affective experience of migration 161 Marija Dalbello and Catherine McGowan 12 The involuntary ethnographer and an eagerness to know 185 Sofie Strandén-Backa 13 Ethnography, arts production and performance: Meaning making in and for the street 197 Jessica Bradley Ethnographic twists and turns: An alternative epilogue 213 Tom Boellstorff Index 221 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1.1 Part of the forest around the former campground in Camp Westerbork has been cleared for a field of radio telescopes. These telescopes, placed next to the memorial to the camp’s victims, are visible from the site of the former camp, contributing to the bizarre experience of different worlds meeting. Photo: EUROHERIT 10 1.2 The view from the living room in the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum in Budapest. Photo: EUROHERIT. 14 1.3 Johanna at the Voice from the Sea sound installation in Sagres Promontory. Photo: EUROHERIT. 15 2.1 Conference venue. Photo: Tytti Lehtovaara. 26 3.1 Simon’s walk. Photo: Simon Poole. 44 6.1 Drawing by a 9-year-old boy, 2018. Copyright: Inequalities in Motion. Transnational Families in Estonia and Finland Project. 91 6.2 Drawing by an 8-year-old boy, 2018. Copyright: Inequalities in Motion. Transnational Families in Estonia and Finland Project. 93 6.3 Drawing by a 6-year-old girl, 2018. Copyright: Inequalities in Motion. Transnational Families in Estonia and Finland Project. 95 7.1 Drawing by Marika Tervahartiala, 2019. Copyright: Marika Tervahartiala. 100 List of illustrations ix 7.2 Drawing by Marika Tervahartiala, 2019. Copyright: Marika Tervahartiala. 104 7.3 Drawing by Marika Tervahartiala, 2019. Copyright: Marika Tervahartiala. 116 7.4 Drawings by Marika Tervahartiala, 2019, layout by Maria Manner. Copyright: Marika Tervahartiala. 110 7.5 Drawings by Marika Tervahartiala, 2019, layout by Maria Manner. Copyright: Marika Tervahartiala. 111 Tables 5.1 Problems and proposed solutions for video research ethics 79 11.1 Summary of the record completeness and file inventory for the corpus 162 11.2 Dates of immigration (N=198) 164 11.3 Age at time of immigration as reported in the interviews 165 11.4 Modalities with codes and descriptions 167 13.1 Data collection across the stages 206 13.2 Data excerpt, conversation in taxi, May 2015 207 CONTRIBUTORS Tom Boellstorff is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, USA. His research focuses on digital culture, disability, globalization, the history of technology, nationalism, and sexuality. A Fellow of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science, his research has been supported by a range of sources including the National Science Foundation. He is author of The Gay Archipelago: Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia, A Coincidence of Desires: Anthropology, Queer Studies, Indonesia, and Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. He is coauthor of Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method and coeditor of Data, Now Bigger and Better! His articles have appeared in American Anthropologist, American Ethnologist, Cultural Anthropology, Current Anthro- pology, Annual Review of Anthropology, Games and Culture, International Journal of Communication, Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, Ethnos, GLQ, and Media, Culture, and Society. Jessica Bradley is an ethnographer interested in the intersection of language, educa- tion and creative practice. Her doctoral research was part of the UK-based Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project ‘Translation and Translanguaging: Investigating Linguistic and Cultural Transformation in Superdiverse Wards in Four UK Cities’. Her PhD ‘Translation and Translanguaging in Production and Perfor- mance in Community Arts’ considered translation and text trajectories in street arts production and performance. She is Lecturer in Literacies in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield and co-convenes