Please read this article on Walking (as an ethnographic methodology) by Cristina Moretti, from the book, A Different Kind of Ethnography.Please read this article on Walking (as an ethnographic methodology) by Cristina Moretti, from the book, A Different Kind of Ethnography.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMoretti’s chapter on walking, directly addressed ethnographic writing and research (Moretti, 2017). This chapter illustrated different approaches to anthropological writing, including item-based ethnography such as images. I found this chapter inspiring and it encouraged me to experiment with writing. During this writing process, I could consider my own ethnographic voice. While I did not arrive at my authentic ethnographic voice in either description, by being able to consider the ways I can change my writing I was forced to think about how I wanted my writing to sound. Through this experience, I realized that by changing the tone, approach, and form writers can apply different voices and styles to achieve different outcomes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this chapter I was indeed sitting on the bus just as was suggested in the opening paragraph. It allowed me to consider whether or not a bus truly was a "public place". While it is meant to be accessible to all, it isn't truly. I consider the fact that if I had my baby with me and my larger stroller I would not find the bus and certainly not the sardine packed train accessible whatsoever. People who do not have the money to take public transit would not deem this space as public nor would those who have physical disabilities as there simply is not the space during certain times to accomadate those with special needs. While I sat on the bus reading, another other aspect of the chapter that stuck me. The concept of listening and being "ghostly". As soon as I got into the bus in went my headphones as do many others. I sat down, keeping to myself anonymously as I'm sure many others do. I was sitting there in a place filled with so many people and yet feeling alone. However, to me in that moment it did not feel negative and I didn't feel lonely. For many people a public space is a space people can be who they are and behave how they wish so long as it fits in reasonable social parameters. Do public spaces need to be social spaces? Can we interact with others without conversing? Can we simply share a space and time and exist together without personal interactions? Not all interactions need to be personal and we can learn so much from just sharing a moment or space with another being. Perhaps that is what makes a place public.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole,
DeleteI am also intrigued by the idea of a public space and how one may behave or interact in a public space. I think the idea of sitting on a bus is quite interesting; one enters a bus and may keep to oneself such as putting in their headphones or reading a book. Therefore being in a public space (which could be a social space) one may be choosing not to have any social interactions. What I find fascinating about public spaces or social spaces even when one is choosing not to be social is the mutual understanding that can occur. For example, when an elderly person enters a bus one knows to let that person sit at the front. Now does this type of interaction now make the public space more personal?
I think that's a great point! Although many people do keep to themselves or do their own thing we still behave in manners that are deemed socially acceptable and have a mutual respect for one another (for the most part). That being said. You can see how people's morals and consideration vary from person to person. For example when I was pregnant only some people would give up their seat for me on public transit and countless times I have sadly seen this happen with the elderly. So what does that tell us about our changing society?
DeleteI related to the author’s expression that walking is an imaginative process. The walk can be a familiar place or a new place. Both could bring different types of experiences of seeing, understanding, imagining, and engaging in the place. I also really liked the quote from Appadurai (1996) in saying, “imagination here refers not to a detachment from reality, but rather to a complex engagement with it” (Moretti, p. 99). This is such a powerful statement that resonates the importance of children engaging with nature and the world around them in their imagination and creativity.
ReplyDeleteReading Cristina Moretti's (2017) chapter on the ethnography of walking had me pondering my own experiences and those of my students. As I read, I highlighted and as I looked back over what stood out to me, I found that many of the quotes had me reconsidering what walking entailed....
ReplyDelete"walking as a research strategy, a practice of learning and a way of being in place" (p. 94)
"walking is then more akin to 'navigating': 'moving within a moving environment' that is 'always emerging and unfolding'" (p. 95)
"walking with others can help us appreciate people's senses of place while urging us to reflect on the social relations that shape them" (p. 95)
"during ethnographic walks...you will perform certain itineraries, modes of listening and seeing, as well as ways of relating to each other and to the spaces around you" (p. 97)
These quotes make me think back to our first day together, reading Kate's article and then listening to her talk about the importance of returning to the same space to become familiar with it in such a way that allows us to notice changes and allow for "magical moments" to be seen. Walking together seems to call for a similar practice. Walking together is more than getting ourselves from point a to point b, it is a relational exchange in which all participate (humans, other than humans, environment). The experiences that arise from walking together, perhaps taking the same route each time, change constantly.
So what does this mean for me and the kids in my Kindergarten class? Well, up until now, I have seen walking as a means to get places. Of course I stop along the way to share things I have noticed and to observe the things that my students are talking about and sharing. We chat about things as we go. But, for me, there has never been much purpose behind these chats other than engaging with my students as we pass the time walking from one place to another. Moving forward, I intend to consider our walks together differently. I intend to think about the quotes listed earlier and find ways to be conscious of the fact that walking can allow a greater depth to our interactions. This was really interesting and thought provoking.
I found Moretti's article thought provoking, provocative and remiinding us that a lot of the time we go around with a film over our eyes that prevents us from really engaging with the community. In the days of cell phones it is all the more apparent as people pass you buy often without engaging with anyone in their vicinity.
ReplyDeleteIt also makes me thing that we need to just ask some questions often. It is not always important to get the answers to the questions just important to keep asking them. I did a photographic exercise once called "A day in the life of a park bench" where I photographed this same bench over a twelve hour period and took pictures of the bench and how it was being used. The individuals were taken from the back so the viewers had to filled in the blanks about the people just sitting and make up their own internalized narrative about the subject matter. It reminded me that I did that project years ago when I was a student at UBC and worked out of the building at the orchard garden. Am I really that old???
I also relished the way the author reminded us to not overlook the everyday walk to renew our acquaintance with public spaces and the narrative threads that weave through all our lives. It also reminds me that we live in a moving matrix all the time and nothing is every really static.
I really like the way that art can be provocative and make us think of different ways to view any every day encounter, occurence or object. So I related to the artist Brunsing and like the way that he use a perverted twist to the art piece that provokes the viewer to stop, change and think again.
I found the idea of "recording your walks by focussing on sounds" to be especially thought provoking, in Moretti's article. I connected and built on the ideas we learned previously about soundscapes. Moretti's idea of "attention to listening and recording what you hear while walking" adds another way of listening to sounds and deepening our connections with the natural world. Also giving our walks another level of focus to deepen these experiences and help create a sense of place and belonging, and asking questions like "what will you notice and who will you meet?" (p.93) When I go for walks now whether with my class or on my own time there are many new things to consider and notice.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne
I liked Avery Gordon's idea of "ghostly matters" cited by Appadurai (1996) in the chapter. This space that is created by a lack/absense/void/vacant and is 'haunted' by the sense of loneliness or isolation in a place of flux.
ReplyDeleteI also related to this article on a personal level since my very first class in Forestry was a walking tour to identify and learn the scientific names of the trees around campus. Many of the trees had unique, individual histories and it was significantly easier to remember the names of the trees that had interesting stories associated with them.
Just like Claire mentioned, this article made me think back to our first day together as we discussed Kate's article and the importance of returning to the same place over and over again to become familiar with it. This is one of the big take aways of the week for me. Of particular interest to me was Moretti's (2017) statement that "...walking is also a way to connect the past and the present to validate and re-establsh relations to ancestors or past events." (p. 95). As I work with children with receptive language delays, this article inspired me to think about the power that walking in places repeatedly may have on children's ability to understand and begin to develop a sense of the past. Children with language delays often struggle with moving beyond thinking or talking about the here and now, and one of the best ways to support children's receptive language development is to help them understand and talk about the past (Weitzman & Greenberg, 2002). What a rich, multisensory experience it would be to go walking in the same place over and over again - a garden, perhaps - and then to discuss this familiar place afterwards, building children's understanding and awareness about thinking and talking about the past!
ReplyDeleteWeitzman, E., & Greenberg, J. (2002). Learning language and loving it: A guide to promoting children's social, language and literacy development in early childhood settings. Toronto: Hanen Centre.
Moretti’s article and all of Friday made me think of how as an educator we can get outside of the box. How we can connect to our community, get outside, and start making relationships with people and our environment. One quote that stood out to me was “walking with others can help us appreciate people’s sense of place while urging us to reflect on the social relations that shape them” (p. 95). I think that it all comes down to this, the social relations. Megan Zeni said that in her presentation “teaching is all about human connection and relationships”.
ReplyDeleteImmediately Moretti's chapter on walking (Moretti, 2017) caught my attention. I started to think about the public spaces in which I visited, never has it crossed my mind that these spaces were in fact not as public as we are lead to believe. As this knowledge is settling in I begin to recall the spaces I use daily in my life. Many of these spaces are not inclusive, whether that be lack of inclusive space and accessibility, some of these spaces cost money (public transit), and there are many rules in which you can experience this "public" space. The idea of the round swinging bench was interesting, how would that work in a very populated park such as Stanley Park? I also was drawn to the benches that turned into a shelter when needed. Vancouver has a very high population of homelessness, instead of casting that population aside lets support them. This comes back to the idea of being aware of your community and surroundings. We have the ability to enrich the enviromemt around us, these gestures don't need to start grand, they can be a simple "Hello" or smile while passing someone by. Just go for a walk and observe who, what are in your community
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Ponkey
DeleteI was taking notes as I read, and I notice that the things I made note of are all things that communicate the advantages of walking tours and how they enhance all areas of development, particularly social and emotional. I was just taken aback as to the intricacies of guided walks and the impacts and influences that have in the individual and all relationships. I really appreciated the insights from this article. Here are a few of the quotes that really stuck out to me.
ReplyDelete“walking with others can help us appreciate peoples senses of place while urging us to reflect on the social relations that shape them” ( p. 95)
Walking tours do more than “reveal a series of places, memories, and relations that are simply already there. They open a performative space: a time and place or in habitants to take on, bend, and respond to the many histories, questions, and meanings that might be associated to particular locals” (p. 96)
“The guided walks were both thematic and experiential, as public space was not only something that we could talk about but also something e could experience together: an embodied, shared, and collaboratively constructed reality where our journey took place” (p. 97)
“Being and moving through space helps us construct our identities for ourselves and for others, and to claim, literally and metaphorically a space in the world” (p. 97)
“co-imagining means to follow not just your guides’ footsteps but their ideas, memories, and strategies for understanding” (p. 100)
Another thing I really appreciated was that at the end there is a list of exercises and extra resources to provide practicalities for the everyday teacher. However many of these resources and activities do not feel like they would work well with younger children (ages 2-5). I presume that this would be more of getting back to the basics and just going for a walk and letting the children explore and experience the environment while being a guide in the sense of pointing things out to the children and getting them to interact with it.