Ethnographic research has become one of the most fashionable and exotic research methods in the humanities and social sciences, but it can also be misunderstood. In this workshop we look at a number of central issues in ethnographic research, from theoretical, epistemological and ethical questions to very practical challenges to do with how to go about ethnographic fieldwork. We consider: what does it mean to carry out ethnographic research? How can it be done rigorously? How can it be defended against accusations that it is an entirely subjective engagement with the object of research? Is reflexivity a panacea for such criticisms?
This 3 hour workshop will be relevant to anyone doing ethnographic research from the social sciences or using ethnography as part of their artistic practice.