InternationalEthnography-Conference
‘Goingpublic‘?–EthnographyinEducationandSocialWorkanditsPublics
October31st–November2nd,2019
Martin-Luther-UniversityHalle-Wittenberg,Germany
CallforPapers
Ethnographymaintainsatenserelationshipwiththepublic(s).Atfirstglance,itpreferssmallworlds,micro-levelsettings,culturalandinstitutionalpracticesinadefined,locallyobservablespace.Atthesametime,itproducespublic effects on theencountered local worlds – through the observers entering the field andmostdefinitelywiththepublicationoftheirobservations.However,ethnographyisconfrontedwithformsofpublicsthatareconstitutiveof(pedagogical)fieldsthemselves.Italsoencounterstracesofpublicmedia,e.g.scandalizing(social-)pedagogicalinstitutionsandinfluencingtheunderstandingofeducation,careandlearning.Currently,ethnographyis itself increasinglycalledupontoaddressbroaderpublics. Againstthatbackground the ‘public’ provides a useful category to reflect the theoretical and methodologicaldevelopmentswithinethnographyineducationalscienceanditspoliticalroleanew.
Asfortheoriesofthepublic,ethnographymightfirstraisethequestiononhowpublicsarebeingconstruedandalsochangedatthepresent.Inthebourgeoissociety,the‘public’wasconstruedasasphereopposingthe ‘private’,which was connoted by family and personal space. Itwas imaginedwith an emphasis onpossibilities for participation, social transparency and democratic negotiation. Yet, simultaneously the‘bourgeoispublic sphere’established specificpower relations,createdparticular social closures, andwaslast but not least also characterisedby patriarchal gender relations. This conceptualization of thepublicdidn’t take intoaccount theexistenceof ‘multiplepublics’.Developments in the lastdecadesuchasnewmedia, thedigitalisationof livingconditionsandthechangeofthepoliticalspherehavenotonlybroughtaboutnewformsofthepublic,butarealsoaccompaniedwithastilllittleaddressedfundamentalchangeofthepublicasacategory.Fromtheperspectiveofeducationandsocialworkthefollowingquestions,amongothers,arise:
-Whichnewpublicsarecreatedorchangedinthecourseoftherisingsignificanceofparticipationregardinginstitutionalandprofessionalcooperation(e.g.transitions,educationlandscapes,childprotection)?
-Howcanprocessesofsocialisationandlearninginandthroughdigitalmediabecapturedbyeducationalethnography and how does the understanding of socialisation and learning itself change in these newpublics?
- How does the conception of family education change in ethnography in education and social workconsideringthenewcontouringofthepublicandtheprivateincluding‘newattentionsforthefamily’?
Methodologically,ethnography is intertwinedwith thepublicnessof social practices,as theyhave to bevisibletoobservethem.Withsocialpractices–alsopedagogicalordidacticalpractices–shiftingtosocialnetworks and digital publics,new questions arise regarding the possibilities of observation.At the sametimeethnographyiswovenintoagameofpublic-making:Asapracticeofobservationitentersfieldswhichare structured by the difference of ‘public’ and ‘private’ themselves. In doing so,ethnography inevitablychanges this difference: ‘participant’ observationmight make ‘private’ spaces ‘public’, or ‘local publics’mightbedrawnintothebroader‘publicsphere’.
Againstthisbackground,methodologicalquestionslikethefollowingarise:
-Howdoes themodeof ‘participation’, but alsoofdata collectionmethodsandanalyticalmethods (theembodimentoftheobserver,recordingtechnologiesetc.)changeinethnographicresearch?
-Howarepublicsconstitutedthroughethnographicresearchinapracticalwayandinrelationtothecodesofpublicandprivatethatarerelevanttothefield?
-Which ethical questions arise from new possibilities of investigating digital contexts or publishing theresultsusingdifferentformslikefilms,theatre,etc.?
Ethnography is inevitably political in carrying out its practice and establishing its relations to the field.Ethnographerspresentandpublishtheirresults,enteringnewpublicsladenwithpowerrelationsastheydoso and also creating new publics to the observed. Yet, how do ethnographers reflect and observe thispolitical dimension in their own practice? Approaches such as ‘public ethnography’ mark in their self-understanding a new type of ethnographic research that, juxtaposing the descriptive and analyticalethnography,hasfoundlittleconsiderationtodate.Thus,itneedstobediscussed,amongotherquestions,howa‘publiceducationalethnography’maybedefined:
- How does educational ethnography consider its effects not only on pedagogical fields, but also oneducationalscienceasadiscipline,onmedia,andalsoonsocietalandpoliticalpublics?
-Whatrisksareimpliedinaneducationalethnographythatunderstandsitselfaspolitical?Howmightthemethodological orientation of ethnographypossibly change if it claims to be politically influential?Whatroledoes‚collaborativeethnography’playinthiscontext?
-How can ethnography become more popular to wider audiences?Which forms of representation aresuitabletoconveyethnographicresultsbeyondtheirtextualintegrationintheoreticaldiscourses?
Educationalethnographystudiespublics, it constitutes them,and it turnswith its findings to thepublics.Theinternationalconferenceinvitescontributionstothesethreedimensionsaswellasdiscussionsontheirinterrelations,relyingonownethnographicstudies.
Contributionstotheconferencecanbesubmittedinthefollowingthreeformats:
1. Oral presentation related to the topic of the conference. For oral presentation, 20minutes arescheduledaswellas20minutesfordiscussion.Abstractsmaybeupto500wordslong.
2. Symposia related to the topic of the conference with up to four contributions to a common,overarching discussion. For symposia, 120 minutes are scheduled. Abstracts may be up to 800wordslong.
3. Workshops dedicated to concrete (experimental) formats of ethnographic representation. Forworkshops120minutesarescheduled.Abstractsmaybeupto800wordslong.
Wewill especially value English-speaking contributions, symposia or workshops, as (at least) oneof theparalleleventswillalwaysbeconductedinEnglish.PleasesubmityourabstractinEnglishorGermanfromthe conference home page at: https://mlu.de/ethno2019. Deadline for abstract submissions: February15th,2019.TheoutcomeoftheselectionwillbecommunicatedbyMarch15th,2019.
Forquestionsandadditionalinformationcontact:[email protected].
GeorgBreidensteinJörgDinkelakerBettinaHünersdorfOliverSchnoorTanyaTyagunovaDanielWrana
