Ethnology Days 2012: Ethnography: What, Where, How? 16.–17.3.2012, Jyväskylä
The First Call for Papers and Sessions (closed 15th October 2011)
The topic of the seventh day of Ethnology Days is ethnography, which in the human sciences refers to the process of collecting research data amongst and with researched people. Typical ethnographic methods include observing, interviewing, and photographing (among others). In addition to the gathering of data, ethnography also entails the process of writing and analyzing what has been collected. Traditionally, ethnography has been a common research method for anthropologists as well as for the related disciplines such as ethnology. Later on, ethnographic methods and the concept of “the field” have diversified and become more common in other disciplines as well. The field and discussions related to ethnography are now particularly relevant when constructing multi-disciplinary questions. For example, the proliferation of Internet usage has renewed the body of ethnographic methods, as research can now be conducted online. Reflections on questions concerning research ethics, however, have brought into discussion the limits of the field and the making of ethnographies. Thus, the main questions of the seminar concern what ethnography is today, the researcher’s place and responsibility in the ethnographic research process, and how the field is defined in the 21st century.
