250 research outputs found
From a certain point of view: sensory phenomenological envisionings of running space and place
The precise ways in which we go about the mundane, repetitive, social actions of everyday life are central concerns of ethnographers and theorists working within the traditions of the sociology of the mundane and sociological phenomenology. In this article, we utilize insights derived from sociological phenomenology and the newly developing field of sensory sociology to investigate a particular, mundane, and embodied social practice, that of training for distance running in specific places: our favored running routes. For, despite a growing body of ethnographic studies of particular sports, little analytic attention has been devoted to the actual, concrete practices of âdoingâ or âproducingâ sporting activity, particularly from a sensory ethnographic perspective. Drawing upon data from a 2-year joint autoethnographic research project, here we explore the visual dimension, focusing upon three key themes in relation to our runnersâ visualization of, respectively, (1) hazardous places, (2) performance places, (3) the timeâspaceâplace nexus
West-Central Asia: a comparative analysis of studentsâ trajectories in Russia (Moscow) from the 1980s and China (Yiwu) from the 2000s
Through an exploration of oral history and ethnographic material, this article makes a comparative examination of the life-trajectories of students from Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan who studied in Russia (Moscow) during the late 1980s, and from Tajikistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia who studied in China in the 2000s. In contrast to the cohort of students in Moscow who were mainly men from places with relatively amicable relations with the USSR, the female students of Muslim background from West and Central Asia regarded China as a place where they could pursue fulfilling forms of economic and personal autonomy. By comparing these two groups of international students, this article sheds light into the nature of historical, geographical and geopolitical connections and disconnections between West-Central Asia, Eurasia (especially Russia) and East Asia (especially China). By centring its attention to the demise of Soviet/Russian education and the emergence of China as a figure of economic prosperity, the article theorises West-Central Asia as a particular arena of interaction suitable to comprehend the networks, âthird spacesâ or zones of interaction (e.g. Moscow and Yiwu), and forms of connection fostered by these studentsâ trajectories
Exclusion and reappropriation: Experiences of contemporary enclosure among children in three East Anglian schools
Transformations of the landscapes which children inhabit have significant impacts on their lives; yet, due to the limited economic visibility of childrenâs relationships with place, they have little stake in those transformations. Their experience, therefore, illustrates in an acute way the experience of contemporary enclosure as a mode of subordination. Following fieldwork in three primary schools in South Cambridgeshire, UK, we offer an ethnographic account of childrenâs experiences of socio-spatial exclusion. Yet, we suggest that such exclusion is by no means an end-point in childrenâs relationships with place. Challenging assumptions that children are disconnected from nature, we argue that through play and imaginative exploration of their environments, children find ways to rebuild relationships with places from which they find themselves excluded. This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/026377581664194
Participatory Augering: A methodology for challenging perceptions of archaeology and landscape change
Public engagement is a significant feature of twenty-first-century archaeological practice. While more diverse audiences are connecting with the discipline in a multitude of ways, public perceptions of archaeology are still marred by stereotypes. Community excavations of âsitesâ to discover âtreasuresâ which tell us about the âpastâ overshadow other forms of public research output and hinder the potential of the discipline to contribute to contemporary society more widely. This paper proposes participatory augering as an active public engagement method that challenges assumptions about the nature of archaeological practice by focusing on interpretation at a landscape-scale. Through exploration of recent participatory augering research by the REFIT Project and Environmental Archaeologist Mike Allen, this paper demonstrates how the public can contribute to active archaeological research by exploring narratives of landscape change. Evaluation of the existing case studies reflects the potential of the approach to engage audiences with new archaeological methods and narratives which have the potential to transform perceptions of the discipline and, through knowledge exchange, drive community-led contributions to contemporary landscape management
Contextualising migrantsâ health behaviour - a qualitative study of transnational ties and their implications for participation in mammography screening
Editorial: Living Landscape: The European Landscape Convention in Research Perspective
The Public Playground Paradox: "Childâs Joy" or Heterotopia of Fear?
Literature depicts children of the Global North withdrawing from public space toâacceptable islandsâ. Driven by fears both of and for children, the publicplayground â one such island â provides clear-cut distinctions between childhoodand adulthood. Extending this argument, this paper takes the original approach oftheoretically framing the playground as a heterotopia of deviance, examining âfor the first time â three Greek public playground sites in relation to adjacentpublic space. Drawing on an ethnographic study in Athens, findings show fear tounderpin surveillance, control and playground boundary porosity. Normativeclassification as âchildrenâs spaceâ discourages adult engagement. However, in anovel and significant finding, a paradoxical phenomenon sees the playgroundâspresence simultaneously legitimizing playful behaviour in adjacent public spacefor children and adults. Extended playground play creates alternate orderings andnegotiates norms and hierarchies, suggesting significant wider potential toreconceptualise playground-urban design for an intergenerational public realm
âWe donât want to be sent back and forth all the timeâ:ethnographic encounters with displacement, migration, and Britain beyond the British Isles
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