Week 9 – Ethical concerns on case study 1

[Last modified: December, 3 2024 05:04 PM]

Our group was assigned to give ethical concern evalutaion based on the 1st case study – Women survivors of domestic abuse in Pakistan. This study is highly problematic due to the reasons given below.

Informed consent should be signed first of all. The fact that there’s no written evidence of consent is a major red flag. Any future research must ensure participants clearly understand what the study involves, how their data will be used, and what risks are associated. Consent needs to be given voluntarily, without pressure, and documented in writing. If participants wish their names to be publicized for instance, the student should discuss the potential consequences in detail, including risks of retaliation and emotional distress.

Confidentiality and anonymity are also important. While the survivor expressed shes ok to have her story publicized, the student should still carefully assess whether this aligns with best practices in research ethics. Researcher has a duty to minimize harm. The student should consider anonymizing all identifying details unless publishing the identity is essential, consent is explicit.

Also, the power dynamic between the student and the participants must be carefully managed. The women in the refuge are in a vulnerable position, and the student’s role as a researcher and previous intern could unintentionally influence their willingness to participate. Establishing trust and maintaining boundaries are important for this research.

When it comes to the proposed dissertation, the student must seek ethical approval for any further research involving interviews with survivors. This can be done by outlining a clear methodology, explaining how the student will handle sensitive topics, and how they will protect participants’ safety and well-being.

I would urge the student to reflect on their own positionality and the potential impact of their research. Working with survivors of domestic abuse is not just about gathering data; it’s about treating participants with dignity and respect. Partnering with the NGO to ensure ethical oversight and appropriate support for participants would be a good step forward.

Week 8 – Multimodality

[Last modified: November, 27 2024 01:14 AM]

My research explores how international graduates build professional networks to integrate into London workforce. Digital ethnography is central to my research because digital networking spaces offer a rich field of interaction that transcends traditional ethnographic settings. LinkedIn for example, is a professional networking hub beyond its job-search functions, it acts as a space where users curate their professional identities. Observing profile updates, recommendations, and posts can reveal patterns in how individuals adapt to London’s workforce expectations. Instagram, blurs the line between personal and professional, especially in the creative industries. Some participants may use it to share glimpses of their work or industry-related events, particularly those in arts fields like dance, music or theatre. Facebook groups often act as informal networking spaces, connecting individuals within niche industries or communities. Examining interactions across these platforms can help me uncover how digital spaces complement or contrast with traditional networking offline. Conducting digital ethnography this way allows me to capture nuances that aren’t always visible offline. For instance, the frequency of posts, types of content shared, or the engagement levels on professional updates provide insights into how people  manage their visibility. This can reflect cultural differences too, for example, whether someone openly celebrates achievements or prefers subtle, indirect networking strategies.

Presenting the Findings Through Multimodal Methods

To present these findings, I will also adapt multimodal approaches such as infographics and network maps. For instance, infographics could illustrate the flow of interactions, from a LinkedIn connection request to a face-to-face coffee meeting. Network mapping is another way to showcase how connections evolve. Imagine a visual that starts with a single online post and branches out into new opportunities, like invitations to events or job referrals. Using embedded tools like Google Maps, I could also trace participants’ offline movements, like locations of key networking events or industry-specific hubs in London.

Furthermore, Location-Specific Apps like Meetup or Eventbrite facilitate offline gatherings. These are good platforms for bridging digital and real-world interactions. Incorporating these elements can illustrate the interplay between online networks and tangible spaces, like theatres, co-working spaces, or networking cafes.

Week 7 – Body Ethnography

[Last modified: November, 18 2024 11:40 PM]

After the seminar class, a few girls from the group and I decided to go for lunch at a Chinese noodle shop. The small, cozy setting of the restaurant immediately created a sense of comfort, drawing us into casual conversation. As we sipped noodles, the topic shifted to life and relationships, eventually leading to a discussion about future planning, including whether we wanted children. This seemingly mundane setting, the act of eating together became a space where intimate conversations happened naturally. As we continued to chat, one of my friends mentioned her desire to pursue surrogacy, and immediately, the conversation expanded into a discussion about the ethics surrounding it. Surrogacy, it turned out, had many layers of complexity – the ethics of black markets, human trafficking, and the consequences of exploitation arose. The discussion quickly expanded, touching on larger social issues—access to reproductive technologies, societal expectations around motherhood, and the inequalities that shape who has access to such services. Each new point seemed to spark deeper questions about body autonomy, the commodification of reproduction, and the inequalities in global systems. These issues, were framed in the intimate, mundane context of our lunch.

What struck me was the role the environment—the restaurant and how it played in fostering such an open conversation. Restaurants are spaces where food and conversation blend, creating an atmosphere of warmth and familiarity. The act of eating together is inherently intimate. It reminded me of how bodily actions, like eating, offer a bridge between private and public realms. In this context, food was a catalyst for emotional and intellectual connection, we were able to drop our social guard and speak candidly about sensitive topics without feeling judged or observed.

Another aspect leading to this openness is being in a group of girls close in age. This added another layer of comfort, we shared similar life experiences, maybe societal pressures, which made it easier to open up about ourselves without formality. This experience made me reflect on how social interactions in everyday spaces, like a restaurant, are never just about the food. They are about bodies, emotions, and how we navigate intimate and difficult subjects in settings that make us feel at ease.

Week 5 – Political Dimensions

[Last modified: November, 13 2024 12:59 AM]

My research explores how international graduates build networks to transition into the London workforce, addressing issues around migration, labour markets and integration in a new environment. London attracts thousands of international students because of its perceived career opportunities and cultural diversity. However, the reality of finding work post-graduation is challenging, as many graduates lack established networks and face a competitive, unfamiliar job market.

The UK’s Graduate Immigration Route allows international students to stay and work up to two years post-graduation, but it also has limitations. For long-term visas, graduates often need to earn around £38,700, which is difficult in certain fields. This pressure may force graduates to prioritise immediate job security over career alignment to meet immigration requirements. While sectors like finance have structured recruitment pathways, performing arts fields such as dance, theatre and music often rely on informal networks which could be hard for newcomers to access. This can hinder international graduates from non-Western backgrounds from establishing themselves in these industries. Digital networking platforms like LinkedIn provide some access, but they also amplify existing hierarchies. Graduates who are less familiar with digital networking, or whose home countries emphasise in-person networking, may struggle to leverage these tools effectively.

As an international student and freelance musician, I understand some challenges faced by my participants, such as visa-related restrictions on networking. My positionality brings both empathy and potential bias. To minimise this, I will let participants define their own experiences, and acknowledge that networking norms vary across cultures, and some favour informal connections over LinkedIn. Given the political context, I will adapt my methods to be culturally sensitive, using digital ethnography to observe network-building in digital and offline spaces. By documenting my own assumptions and their evolution, I will aim to account for the political dimensions in how international graduates build networks in London, highlighting both opportunities and structural challenges they may face.

Week 4 – Fieldnotes on Gordon Square

[Last modified: October, 26 2024 03:50 PM]

I went for a stroll in Gordon Square and noticed a cute café by the entrance of the park. Momo’s Garden Café, with its wooden cabin design blends in with the nature setting very well, creating an inviting space for people to relax, contemplate and connect. In the café, I noticed a diverse mix of people, some were gathered in small groups, chatting over coffee, but most were intently engaged with digital work tools. I observed a couple sitting at a tiny desk, facing each other, each with a laptop open and headphones on, completely absorbed in their work. Meanwhile, the other people that came alone were similarly focused, with headphones on and eyes fixed on their screens. This scene reminded me of what I saw in Waterstones bookstore for my week 2 ethnographic vignette, where most people were working with laptops instead of browsing books. In both settings, a shared and public environment was redefined into a space for productivity, as people brought their personal work into a relaxing social atmosphere.

Although this café is situated in nature and feels designed for unwinding, it was interesting to see that like Waterstones, it functions as another quasi-office for many people. This got me thinking about the act of buying coffee as a way to claim a workspace in a public setting, raising questions about ownership and the use of communal areas. This idea connected with themes in the book MINE! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives, where the authors discuss how everyday acts shape our sense of ownership and territoriality, in both physical and digital spaces. In Momo’s Garden Café, a similar dynamic occurs, where people momentarily establish a kind of ownership by purchasing a coffee, giving them “permission” to occupy the space as they work.

Cafes and bookstores are examples of hybrid spaces where the boundaries between private and public become fluid. It’s the kind of space that allows both leisure and productivity – both social  gathering points and makeshift offices. Relating to bigger themes of space, built environment and ownership in urban settings. In both of these spaces, the act of purchasing coffee is a form to assert temporary ownership over public space. These hybrid places in urban setting are designed as communal yet become sites of personal territory as people carve out space for work within them. I see a cultural shift where the built environment must meet the consumers dual demand of both social connection and individual work.

Week 3 – Navigating Public Persona vs Private Life as an Artist

[Last modified: October, 23 2024 12:04 PM]

After adjusting my research focus, I decided to investigate how artists mediate and navigate between their public persona and private lives in the digital age. As a Japanese and Chinese singer-songwriter who relocated to London, my position within this research is shaped by my dual role both as an artist and a researcher.

Working as a musician and being in the industry for over two years offered me first hand insights into the ways both I and other artists manage two sides of themselves. One of the challenges I encountered is the expectation to project a constant state of optimism and perfection, especially in online spaces. Regardless of personal challenges and often vulnerable creative process, there’s immense pressure to always appear enthusiastic when sharing and promoting music. This expectation can clash with the reality of the artistic journey, creating a disconnect between how artists truly feel and the personas they must maintain for their audiences.

In acknowledging my positionality, instead of addressing aspects like gender, race or age, a more appropriate aspect would be power dynamics. Music industry is unlike the corporate world in which people draw distinct lines between work and personal life. So much of aspects including music marketing, networking, meetings take place in private offline and online spaces in order to appear authentic. Therefore, by investigating from the point of view of a researcher, this introduces another later of complexity and nuance, which could lead to ethical concerns making my participants wonder – if I’m a friend, collaborator or ethnographer? The central theme I’m investigating already deals with the dilemma between online public persona and private authentic lives, therefore, I have to carefully acknowledge my roles, and not to further pressure for people into performing authenticity.

My insider perspective shapes my approach to the study, being familiar with the pressures and nuances of the music industry allows me to empathise with other artists. Another aspect I need to consider is the close proximity to the subject matter, which could lead to potential bias. Since I’m personally face the same pressures of public/private mediation, it’s important to remain reflexive and acknowledge how my own experiences might shape my perspective and analysis of the participants.

Some other ethical concerns in this research involve privacy issues, especially when discussing sensitive topics like emotional struggles, mental health, or private feelings that may contrast with peoples public personas. I have to ensure explicit consent from participants and protect their anonymity. Also, being both an artist and a researcher may introduce power imbalances, as there’s a blurring of roles, there could be confusions about my role at different moments, which I have to carefully acknowledge.

Week 2 – Ethnographic Vignette

[Last modified: October, 15 2024 11:19 AM]

While wandering around UCL campus, I found myself drawn to a nearby open park – Gordon Square. Amidst the usual bustle of students, I noticed a group of about ten people spaced out in pairs, standing with a deliberate distance between them. Their movements were subtle, their gazes locked on each other as they chanted in a monotonous tone that seemed to resonate with the surrounding space. The rhythm of their voices, though steady, varied slightly as it echoed across the park’s natural acoustics.

I became intrigued and I approached cautiously to get a better sense of what they’re doing. I spoke to the leader of the group, who explained that these were drama students from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), experimenting with the different ways outdoor spaces alter vocal sound. Their lesson involved exploring how reverb – normally studied in enclosed spaces indoor – interacted with open air, wind, trees, and distant buildings. By spacing themselves out and chanting, they could observe how sound waves travel and fade, so when they perform in different spaces and stages, they could adapt more easily and therefore improvise better.

This spontaneous encounter made me aware of the intersection between art and environment. The chanting, though repetitive, felt ritualistic, as if they were enacting a shared experience with their voices. Their focus on the environment’s acoustic properties reminded me of how the body and sound interact with space. It made me reflect on the dynamic relationship between human activity and the natural or built environments in which it takes place. As I’m a musician myself, this is also something I experiment, by finding my voice through recording in studio, performing in doors and outdoors. The surrounding atmosphere, people’s energy are all elements that influence performance. In relation to anthropology, this is something they study in terms of the relation between space and social behaviour.

As the group continued their exercise, I lingered, observing how their bodies seemed to respond to the subtleties of sound. The drama coach explained how in performance, such an awareness of sound and space could transform a scene’s emotional impact, connecting both actors and audience in unseen ways. Through this process, the students were not only refining their craft but also engaging with the world around them in a tangible, immediate way, an exploration that seemed both technical and profoundly human.

Week 1 – Ethnography Proposal

[Last modified: October, 6 2024 10:41 PM]

I’m hoping to explore why there is a collective nostalgia for lo-fi aesthetics in the arts and whether this resurgence stems from cultural anxiety and digital escapism. Today, a growing number of musicians and artists are embracing lo-fi aesthetics and retro technologies like cassette tapes, vinyl records, and film cameras. This trend reflects a collective nostalgia for simpler, tactile forms of media as a form of digital escapism—a retreat from the contemporary digital culture. Lo-fi music intentionally degrades sound quality—tape hiss, vinyl crackles, and imperfect recordings, to provide an emotional connection to a past era. As Brian Eno notes in his book A Year with Swollen Appendices, these imperfections become cherished features in retrospect, representing “the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.”

Drawing from Mark Fisher’s notion of ‘the slow cancellation of the future,’ contemporary culture, especially in the neoliberal era, has lost its capacity to imagine new futures. The resurgence of retro technologies can be seen as a broader cultural response to a new world that increasingly feels stuck in a perpetual present, recycling and remixing the past. 

From a digital anthropology perspective, the 3 key questions I’m hoping to explore is: Why are people drawn to lo-fi aesthetics? How does this embrace of older media forms reflect anxieties around technological acceleration? And how do individuals use analogue technologies to construct their artistic identities, form communities, and resist the pressures of digital capitalism?

Methodology: The research will focus on studying musicians and artists who actively engage with analogue and retro aesthetics. By conducting digital ethnographies and interviews, I will explore how these creators use analogue equipments to produce their art in order to maintain artistic identity and authenticity. Key sites of investigation will include online communities on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram. I will also conduct interviews with artists who have significant following with retro aspects in their work, analysing their social contents and artworks. Through these methods, I hope to uncover lo-fi aesthetics as a coping mechanisms and a form of resistance to digital acceleration, offering artists and their audience a way to navigate the digital age.

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