Practices of sensory attention in multi-species ethnography: how can we become more sensitive empirical researchers of the nonhuman?
| Dates: | 4 October 2018 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | methods@manchester |
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| How much: | FREE |
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Lunchtime Seminar Series:
Practices of sensory attention in multi-species ethnography: how can we become more sensitive empirical researchers of the nonhuman?
There has been an increasing interest in how engaging a fuller range of the senses in qualitative social research methods might provide interesting variations on data and extend our critical imagination in new directions. Sensory methods have also been called upon in the growing field of multi-species ethnography in order to draw attention to the sometimes subtle, inter-corporeal exchanges that make up social interactions between humans and other animals. Yet there is often little discussion on the practicalities of such methods and how we can become better, more reflexive, and more sensitive multi-species researchers. This talk draws on my research with horses in an “equine assisted personal development” site and my previous experience of performance training to think about how the experiences of nonhuman animals might be more closely and critically attended to.
Maisie Tomlinson is a PhD researcher in the sociology of human-animal relations at the University of Manchester. Her work explores the ontological and epistemological politics of animal behaviour expertise, focussing on two ethnographic case studies: the teaching of equine behaviour in “personal development” work with horses, and the development of a Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) animal welfare tool for laboratory mice. She is also a trained actor and has recently worked with sociologists Les Back and Michaela Benson on the Fieldwork Fables film project which used actors to roleplay difficult research scenarios for classroom discussion.
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Room 1.69/1.70
Humanities Bridgeford Street
Manchester
