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WORKSHOP

Field Recording: a workshop on sound ethnography

Conference: EASA 2016: Anthropological legacies and human futures
Location: University of Milano-Bicocca
Date: July 20th 2016

Introduction

When the programme for this conference was published, I was delighted to find a session entitled Field Recording: a workshop on sound ethnography. Given my interests in producing auditory ethnographic data, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet other like-minded scholars and to debate some of the related critical and conceptual issues. Sadly, the convenor was not available and it appeared that the session would be cancelled. However, as a large group of scholars had already gathered before this announcement was made, I volunteered to lead an impromptu session, facilitating a discussion on this ethnographic method.

Reflection

This workshop was a very rewarding experience. Despite the lack of preparation, I was able to facilitate a 1hr 45m debate on the use of field recording within an ethnographic context. The participants in the workshop included scholars who wished to learn more about the potential of this method, asking some challenging and thought-provoking questions regarding feasibility, editing and ethics, and other scholars already using the method, who were also able to share their experiences and expertise.