Monday 8th June 2015 - 9:30am-1pm

Wolfson Research Exchange Room 1 and 2, Library, Library Road, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL

At its best, ethnography – often glossed as ‘participant observation’ – has provided sociology and other social researchers with a valuable tool for apprehending a world in flux. Across the humanities and social sciences (e.g. cultural studies, social anthropology, sociology), however, ethnography remains a ubiquitous research method that can often raise as many questions – ethical, methodological, political and practical – as it seeks to answer.

This half-day workshop will consider recent efforts to reassert ethnography as theory (rather than just description) in order to explore these questions. In doing so, this workshop will engage recent scholarly debates about collaborative ethnography, multi-sited ethnography and the literature on so-called ‘new’ ethnographic objects.

Part of the workshop will involve students discussing their own proposals for ethnographic research.

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This event is free to PhD students. Refreshments and a light lunch will be provided.

Travel bursaries of up to £50 are available for attendees not from Warwick University.

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Participants are encouraged to read:

• Laura Nader’s ‘Ethnography as Theory’ (2011, HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 1 (1): 211-219)
• Matei Candea’s ‘Arbitrary locations: in defense of the bounded field-site (2007, Journal of
  the Royal Anthropological Institute 13 (1): 167-184).
• They are also encouraged to acquaint themselves with at least one book published as part of
  Manchester University Press’ New Ethnographies book series: http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?series=40

Booking form