ON SITE / SIGHT �FIELDWORK

Blurring space and cripping Ethnography

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Ili Chrysikou – PhD researcher in Ethnomusicology, University College Cork

Support received for this research from the Graduate School in the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC.

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OVERVIEW

1. Sights and Oversights
1. The previous site
2. Previous research method
3. Masking

B. From Oversight to Blurring

• Resituating my POV
• Ocularcentrism
• Blurring (site & sight)
• Cripping Ethnography

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SITES AND OVERSIGHTS

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PREVIOUS SITES

ATHENS 2024

• I conducted original fieldwork as part of my Integrated Master’s degree at the University of Athens.
• My research examined the K-Pop music and dance scene in the capital exploring globalization and contemporary community-building.
• The process lasted 10 months from start to finish.
• I conducted fieldwork in my hometown

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INITIAL RESEARCH METHOD

Participant Observation

during events and parties across different venues and public spaces.

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Semi-Structured Interviews

occurring both face-to-face and online via meeting platforms such as Zoom and Discord.

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Media-monitoring & Digital Ethnography

involving the daily activities of Instagram accounts created and curated by fans, companies and cultural organizations

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ONE BIG OVERSIGHT: MASKING

My perception was fitting in with that of a non-disabled ethnographer.

I mention my disability only once in the entire dissertation

I never mentioned the particularities or the struggles of doing ethnography while visually impaired

Some of them included:

• Reading normal sized prints due to restricted access
• Struggling with accessing new locations and travelling alone

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FROM OVERSIGHT TO BLURRING

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RESITUATING MY POV

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• My doctoral research lies between Ethnomusicology and Disability Studies.
• I have turned my disability / impairment into a methodological tool and an epistemic position.
• I have moved to Ireland and have lived here for a year.

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“Ableist anthropology is passed down through generations in the methods modeling for and/or training of students in fieldwork.“

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We are expected to be hypermobile and to compensate for our disabilities by working harder than other people.

“Anthropology and Ableism”, Erin L. Durban (2021)

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Semi-Structured Interviews

Require for the ethnographer to observe visual cues

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Participant Observation

Observation proves to be problematic in my case.

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Digital Ethnography

Is still viewed as a legitimate research method in contrast to commuting to unknown places for long periods of time

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OCULARCENTRISM

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• Posting on social media in real time during parties and events (Instagram “stories”)
• Following dance crews as they film content for their social media.
• Well-known public sites being featured on dance clips
• Pages / accounts as places where fans meet, exchange ideas and co-create.
• Referring to recordings and data online when not accessing physical spaces

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BLURRING: DIGITAL AND EUCLEDIAN SPACE

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• “Being in the world” in Merleau-Ponty’s “Phenomenology of Perception” – inspired sensory ethnography & the concept of participatory sensing (Sarah Pink,“Doing Sensory Ethnography”)
• Blurring is reflective of my experience navigating the field and the world.
• Experiencing Euclidian space as a blur that is memorized, embodied and learned.
• Unblurring / clearing is not possible in every social/cultural setting.
• Either leaving things to play out blurred or attempt to perceive them in other ways.

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BLURRING: “BEING IN THE WORLD”

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• How is ethnographic knowledge made?
• What kinds of barriers and boundaries are in store for disabled researchers?
• What do our methods assume about our bodies and needs?
• Can we challenge normalcy and “default” hierarchies of the senses?

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CRIPPING ETHNOGRAPHY

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THANK YOU ☺