Crafting Ethnography
Pertti Pitsinki, Strategic Designer & Crafter, Noren and Michael Powell, Cultural Anthropologist and Design Strategist, Practica Group LLC
Overview
New digital and algorithmic research tools have introduced new opportunities for access and insights, but increasingly, they tend to short circuit the researchers’ and stakeholders’ engagement with research participants, presence in tangible field sites, and immersion with data and insights. Scarce budgets and an overall interest in automation, efficiency and speed in organizations are directing researchers to streamline their research and design approaches. What is the impact of this to the craft of ethnography?
This Salon takes inspiration from the ethnography of craft to discuss the craft-like nature of ethnographic practice itself. We generate a conversion between craft and ethnography to highlight how embodied and enactive intelligence is constitutive to both.
We ask: what is – and what should be – the evolving nature of craft amidst our changing practical conditions for ethnographic work? Is there a risk that ethnography has less and less tangible engagement with physical and material lived worlds? What happens when the material is represented/mediated increasingly through the digital?
References for Participants
Atkinson, Paul. 2013. Ethnography and Craft Knowledge. Qualitative Sociology Review 9(2):56–63. Download here.
What Is a Salon?
In Salons, we gather in smaller groups to build collective intelligence about pressing or emerging topics. Hosts set the stage with key points and provocations, then participants drive the discussion, sharing diverse expertise and experiences. We come away with deeper understanding, new strategies and tactics for our work, and a wonderful network of thought partners.