NordSpark | Digital Research’s Post

I’m glad to have participated in VANDA 2024 (2/3) of Vienna Anthropological Days, where I engaged with two compelling themes that are shaping the future of anthropology. The first theme, "Decolonising and Sharing Ethnographic Materials," highlighted the importance of critically rethinking how we collect, archive, and share ethnographic data. The discussions emphasized the need for equitable collaborations with the communities we study, ensuring that their voices and ownership over cultural knowledge are respected and centered. The second theme, "Digital Ethnography in Post-Pandemic Times: Reflections, Implications, and Innovations," provided a fresh perspective on how digital tools have transformed ethnographic research. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital methodologies, and we explored both the benefits and challenges of conducting ethnography in virtual spaces. It was fascinating to reflect on how these innovations can enhance access and inclusivity in research while still maintaining the depth and nuance of traditional ethnographic approaches. That was an enriching experience, offering crucial insights into how anthropology can evolve to meet the ethical, technological, and cultural challenges of our time. University of Vienna Austrian Academy of Sciences Università degli Studi "Guglielmo Marconi" Central European University #VANDA2024 #Anthropology #Decolonisation #DigitalEthnography #Innovation #CulturalHeritage #Research #Ethnography #PostPandemicResearch

Annnnnd we're back!! ⚖️ Scarleth's Weekly Digital Anthropology Insight #10 ⚖️ Source: Bluteau, J. (2019). Legitimizing digital anthropology through immersive cohabitation: Becoming an observing participant in a blended digital landscape. Ethnography. Insight Summary: Bluteau’s groundbreaking work redefines the boundaries of digital anthropology by introducing the concept of "immersive cohabitation." This approach bridges the online and offline worlds into a unified, blended field. Through 24 months of ethnographic fieldwork on Instagram, Bluteau reveals the transformative potential of becoming an "observing participant" to truly inhabit the digital landscape alongside informants. 🌺 Here are my 5 Key Takeaways: 🌺 1. A New Method for Digital Anthropology: Bluteau’s immersive cohabitation moves beyond mere observation to active participation, blending the digital and physical worlds into a single field of study. This reimagines traditional ethnography for our digitized modernity. 2. Becoming an Observing Participant: Researchers must not only study informants’ digital behaviors but live them—creating a "digital self" to mirror the habits, networks, and engagements of their informants for richer insights. 3. Blended Landscapes: The digital and offline worlds are no longer separate. Platforms like Instagram are not just tools but spaces where identities are crafted, social capital is exchanged, and networks evolve—challenging researchers to rethink what constitutes a fieldsite. 4. The Power of Reflexivity: Immersive cohabitation allows anthropologists to experience and reflect on the nuances of their informants' digital lives. From crafting an acceptable digital persona to mastering network-specific communication, the researcher becomes a participant in the very culture they study. 5. Ethnography in a Postdigital World: As the boundaries between online and offline blur, immersive cohabitation provides a methodology that addresses the interconnectedness of these realms, ensuring anthropology remains relevant in a digital age. Bluteau’s approach invites us to embrace the complexity of the digital era, challenging anthropologists to inhabit and co-create within these blended spaces. The future of anthropology may well depend on this willingness to evolve alongside the landscapes it seeks to understand. #digitalanthropology #virtualspaces #participantobservation find out more on the full PDF:

In the fields of design thinking, UX research, and CX, practitioners sooner or later encounter anthropology concepts. Ethnography, in-depth interviews, and observation have long been identified as key techniques for gathering quality insights in these disciplines. For instance, for over three decades, IDEO played a significant role in popularizing ethnography through design thinking and introducing human-centered design. Why is this important? Social scientists employed in these fields think beyond design and understand the meanings people attribute to products. Without social sciences, we would evaluate products and services through a fact-based prism. Anthropology invites us to accept the flexibility of people's identities and, instead of building services with the assumption that people remain static, design around their dynamic life choices. #designthinking #uxresearch #anthropology

✨ Scarleth's Weekly Digital Anthropology Insight #11 ✨ Author: Carolina Di Prospero Year: 2017 Source: Antropología de lo digital: Construcción del campo etnográfico en co-presencia Insight Overview: Carolina Di Prospero’s exploration of the digital ethnographic field delves into how the blending of physical and digital spaces reshapes research methodologies. Anchored in the concept of co-presence, her work highlights the dynamic interplay between in-person and mediated interactions, challenging conventional ethnographic practices. Here are my 5 takes 1. The Hybrid Field: Traditional fieldwork is no longer bound by geographical constraints. Digital tools enable researchers to operate in "hybrid spaces," where physical presence intertwines with virtual interactions. This shift demands a rethinking of ethnographic immersion. 2. Co-Presence Redefined: Di Prospero argues that effective interaction doesn’t rely solely on physical proximity. Digital co-presence—achieved through consistent, multi-channel communication—can foster deep, meaningful connections with research subjects. 3. Evolving Ethnography: The trajectory from "cyberspace ethnographies" of the 1990s to today's "digital ethnographies" reflects a broader integration of digital and physical realities, requiring ethnographers to engage across both domains simultaneously. 4. Gatekeepers in the Digital Realm: Digital ethnographers must negotiate access not just with traditional gatekeepers but also with influencers within online communities, where power dynamics and trust are redefined through shared digital experiences. 5. The Observer Observed: In the digital age, researchers are not only observers but also participants whose identities are co-created with their subjects. This reciprocity can democratize the research process, blurring hierarchical boundaries. This article not only offers a methodology for navigating digital spaces but also encourages reflection on how ethnographers can balance tradition and innovation in their pursuit of understanding culture in a digital world. #digitalspaces #digitalanthropology #cyberspace Read the full PDF text here:

🌷How Might We not leave humanity and planet behind as an after thought to Tech and Capital? ❤️Bringing humanities and social sciences into designing technology and business is a necessary first step. And we take this “first step” at the emergence of every new technology cycle. More informed and confident than last round. From designing interfaces, to interactions, to products, to services, built environments, and eventually systems/eco-systems in life-centric ways informed by social sciences and humanities, we gradually make our world more inhabitable and our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the planet more harmonious. 🌳Some day, it’ll be second nature for all innovators to systematically consider humans and the planet first. It can be today, it can be your day. 🙂

Exploring Anthropology Beyond Academia: Redefining Consulting 🌐   Anthropology isn't confined to textbooks and research labs. It's a powerful tool shaping corporate landscapes. A good example of applying anthropology beyond academia can be found at ReD Associates, a consulting firm that illustrates this fusion, integrating anthropological insights into everyday business practices rooted in the humanities and social sciences by focusing on how clients understand their own experiences instead of the business interpretation of a “problem”, by better understanding it as a “phenomenon.”   Anthropological methods offer nuanced and creative perspectives in the corporate world. ReD, for instance, seeks to understand the human condition by attempting to answer society’s questions applying participant observation, ethnography and data interpretation. They do this by critiquing the status quo, asking context-based and culturally relevant questions and imagining alternatives to innovate it in multiple topics, problematics and dynamics such as strategy, mental health, sustainability, among others.    In the end, by embracing this interdisciplinary approach, anthropology beyond academia might be starting to unlock new avenues for innovation, growth and rather unconventional yet attractive professional paths for the business-oriented anthropology graduates!    ReD's work is analyzed, described, explained and discussed in their podcast Phenomena, check out some insightful ways to engage with the business strategy world here: https://lnkd.in/eJ9GVpkX     #Anthropology #UCLAnthropology #CorporateCulture #Innovation

Anthropology and Universities as Sites of Transformation IUAES Affiliation: Anthropology and Education Antonádia Borges (Brazil) Divine Fuh (Cameroon) Worldwide, the ideas of the university, disciplines and science, however we conceive of these, are currently under threat. In anthropology, this threat, the response to it and the innovative approaches that emerge from debates about its essence are at the heart of the charm and growth of the discipline. In the last six decades, anthropology has expanded in some aspects because institutions dedicated to humanities and social sciences have also mushroomed worldwide. More recent emancipatory critiques about decolonisation, feminism, disability, queer studies and indigenous approaches require us to rethink some of the critical pillars of the discipline, such as history, principles, theory, concepts, and methodological traditions that define praxis, training and even application in everyday life. We have been experiencing crucial shifts in the possibilities of pursuing the ethnographic enterprise depending on our institutional location. The most blatant difference is economic. Defunding, the push for impact and policy-driven research, and a similar increase in financial budgets have yet to accompany higher education expansion in many countries. However, another non-negligible aspect is how a once-thought-common canon has been challenged and transformed in our countries. In this panel, we want to debate the idea of threat and risk concerning the existence and survival of anthropology as a discipline, method and approach and how anthropology is at risk or threatened both locally and globally. In the context of debates on academic freedom, decolonisation and communal projects of giving back to society and local communities, we want to critically discuss ethnographic accounts of progressive, vicious and conservative attacks on anthropology in the academy and welcome critiques of elitism. Papers focusing on and that engage critically on what we loosely call experiences of transformation are welcome. We aim to tackle transformation as a concept that encompasses locally rooted experiences of navigation in the academic world that raise essential questions about contemporary anthropology, like epistemic violence, epistemological racism, white supremacy, theoretical misogyny and other hindrances related to how power speaks to the discipline. #anthropology #highereducation #transformation #academic #academicconservatism #thecradleconcierge #anthropologysouthafrica The Cradle Concierge – We can help you with everything around The Cradle of Humankind – from tourist attractions, where to stay (want to share accommodation with someone?), and all your travel arrangements including flights. https://lnkd.in/dnrpjvxk WORLD ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNION https://waunet.org/ Anthropology South Africa https://www.asnahome.org/

What would Malinowski do on TikTok? Bronisław Malinowski moved anthropological research from behind the desk into the field. The essence of the field was to go out into the natural environment of the researched, with the development of the Internet in anthropology the question arose: What would Malinowski do? The answer was simple for Christine Hine in her brilliant Virtual Ethnography (2020), she considered that if the people you are researching are moving their activity online, the researcher should follow them. Digital ethnography sees social media as a field where you can conduct field research with all the benefits (just like deep social media listening): 👉 participant observation of organic engagement 👉 looking for an insider's perspective (emic) 👉 tacit knowledge expressed in action TikTok is a great place to spot internet culture, but also in general cultural practice and Malinowski will defenitely observe it not through just analysis and reports but by "going out" into the field and by that I mean not just an overview of statistics and analytics in apps, but full immersion in context. #socialintelligence #digitalethnography #socialmedialistening #anthropology

🔍Unlocking Opportunity: Harnessing Anthropology for Real-World Impact🔎 Curious about the transformative power of anthropology outside academia? Discover "Bridging Opportunity Gaps in Hackney," an illuminating initiative by the UCL Ethnographic Insights Lab! In collaboration with Hackney Council, this project aimed to transform job prospects for young individuals within the borough. Armed with the tools of ethnographic inquiry, our researchers delved deep into the fabric of community life, conducting expert interviews with residents and community leaders to unearth invaluable insights. At the heart of our findings lies a paradigm-shifting concept: "Reaching In." By tapping into the rich reservoir of local knowledge and leveraging existing community networks, we've uncovered a goldmine of untapped potential. Through enhanced awareness and collaboration across diverse sectors, we're amplifying the impact of existing programs and nurturing a culture of empowerment and inclusivity. Our journey transcends the confines of Hackney Council, illuminating a generalizable insight. Institutions often imagine themselves as separate from the communities they serve. This misconception leads them to equate connection with ‘outreach’, ‘access,’ and overcoming ‘barriers.’ Our ethnography found that in reality, institutions such as Hackney Council are integral parts of the communities they serve, built out of social relationships between Council staff and residents. "Reaching in" is not merely a strategy but a philosophy—a rallying cry to recognize, nurture, and harness the profound social ties that bind us all. Join us in rewriting the narrative of community engagement. Explore opportunities for collaboration with the Ethnographic Insights Lab and redefine understanding within your organization. Discover more: https://bit.ly/3W0GLdx What do you think of this initiative? How else can anthropology be used beyond academia? Share your experience with us in the comments! #UCLAnthropology #Ethnography #EthnographyLab #Anthropology #socialsciences #ucl