ANTHMETHGRP4-2425-SIDHANT-MINOCHA

[Last modified: December, 6 2024 09:39 AM]

Case:

3. Veganism through street art

The student wants to conduct research on the propagation of veganism through street art using interviews with street artists and online analysis of social media. The student proposes to use a range of online materials include publically accessible and anonymous images of street art, publicly accessible blogs and social media accounts. One of these is a closed Facebook group for vegan activists for which the student would have to answer a series of questions to be allowed access by the administrator. Another is a public Instagram account of a young vegan who shares photos and videos of herself spray-painting walls in unknown locations with animal rights messages. The vegan artist claims on her profile that she is 18 years old and all the posts are public with hashtags. However, the account has only 40 followers, mostly others involved in a small-scale activist community.

Ethical Considerations:

Since the case involves multiple stakeholders it will be important to unravel the strands and run each nuance through the ethics lens.

First and foremost, to get facts in place, it is pertinent to understand the law of land as the case involves public art. If found illegal, the risk factor is high as the research could go promoting this art form and bring the student research in legal trouble.

The use of “online materials include publicly accessible and anonymous images of street art, publicly accessible blogs and social media accounts” should be quite okay to use with proper referencing since it is already publicly published information.

For the second subject of the research, the closed facebook group, the administrator of the group is going to do due diligence before letting the student researcher access the group. Which is a good ground check and helps get warmed up to the leader of the group. On ethics ground, if the student researcher does get the permission to access the group, it still doesn’t gives the researcher the liberty to use content shared within the group, by other participants, which the researcher could do with publicly open digital domains discussed in the last paragraph. In this case, written consent should be taken from the people owning IPR and privacy rights for their content to be shared outside of the facebook group.

As for the “public Instagram account of a young vegan who shares photos and videos of herself spray-painting walls in unknown locations with animal rights messages”, law of the land around spray painting public property, especially walls, needs to be looked into. If found illegal, this content she posts on her Instagram account cannot be considered just by the virtue of public information  since it comes with a heavy legal baggage. Any propagation of her work, through the researcher’s published findings, can land the artist in legal trouble. On another note, the age of the artist, if doubtful, should be confirmed through the consent form and maybe a legal identity proof document, for another risk factor of exposing details of a minor in the research findings exists. This would need a separate consent from her parents/guardians/closest of kin. The number of followers, and their activist tendencies don’t directly impact the ethical considerations, but I wonder that since it’s an open instagram page, and the followers list is also publicly visible, do we need consent from all the followers too? (It’ll be a logistical nightmare) Because if the activity is deemed illegal, the followers could come under scrutiny too in the future due the published findings of this research, including this artist’s details, leading the legal authorities to the followers in lieu of people with similar, illegal, tendencies.

[Last modified: December, 6 2024 01:48 AM]

Location: The classroom

View and Sketches:

I see shapes all around, the linearity, the grid like patterns, stright, angluar lines.

The next moment I am made aware of the silence and, a moment later, of the subtle buzz. Here’s the mood it irks:

The moment you enjoy the quiet and silence of the space,

A room full of chairs-Empty, Desks – Empty

As lifeless as it might seem, it’s still alive.

I hear the heating pipes or some electrical systems running,

making a constant sound.

but is it life?

its buzzing, creating a sound, that means there is movement – In the atomic structures of the object and the atoms of the space between me and the object.

hence I hear it buzzing, the space between us claiming it’s alive.

 

[Last modified: December, 5 2024 11:01 PM]

The idea of home for me is something I try to answer for myself everyday, and it evolves with each passing day. The fondest memory that I consider home is my grandfather, who balanced his western business looks and Punjabi home looks pretty seamlessly. My memory that makes me feels warm with nostalgia is of an activity that we did together – getting same set of clothes made. I dropped most of the other clothing and after years of his passing, adopted the same style that me and my grandfather embodied together back when he was alive – Kurta Pajama.

Wearing it now, not only makes me comfortable and confident, I like how it falls on my body, the way it sways when I walk, and the way it makes me assert my cultural identity more vividly than getting lost in the crowd. I also feel warm as I have chosen materials smartly for this weather and style it appropriately to not look shabby or all-over-the-place. It is also my lowkey attempt to make a commentary about decolonialism, and to hopefully inspire to not succumb to external pressures and wear what they feel comfortable and confident in. The feeling of having such authority and nonchalance to express myself, and to stand and to influence, adds to my confidence every day.

I currently wear handspun sheep wool, that is non-dyed, non-bleached and 99% handmade. it feels supple, a bit corase, understated, yet sophisticated and neutral enough to repeat everyday and also protect me from the lonodn winter. it keeps me warm while keep me confident and not hoarding too many thick or heavy layers (which make me clautrophobic).

I feel proud to have hit the right balance of style and functionality whenever I wear this everyday.

[Last modified: November, 28 2024 07:57 PM]

The presumption I’m going in with is that the London has been home to Punjabis eversince the soldiers from the Sikh regiment of the British army were offered settlement after retirement in the UK in compensation o their service to the crown. But this was around a century ago.

The recent migrations have been largely been due to failing infrastructure in the Punjab – both Indian and Pakistani. The agricultural reliant economy is crumbling and alternative livelihood opportunities aren’t enough to support the entire population. This is resulting in some selling off their assets to move abroad – mainly UK and Canada, some choosing these options due to existing relatives or community members there or the currency difference and ease of settling in. Lot of them who cannot afford, take loans and move, while many also move illegally and then seek asylum.

The apathetic ignorance of Indian government to this situation is resulting in heavy brain drain, massive drug addiction and mental and physical health degradation, further reducing chances of the state’s revival.

Furthermore the politics of industry first is polluting the land more making people find home elsewhere. But what is it that the migrants here feel like home with? For me, as a student right now, it is meeting other Indians, talking to my friends (aid of technology) and Indian food reminds me of home, so do my Indian clothes. But I wish to understand what is that the community culture here – that supports the feeling of home and what government or public initiatives directly or indirectly support it. The latter definitely exists, proof of which is dedicated Punjabi station by BBC, massive floats of Punjab in Queen’s Birthday celebrations two years ago, and Southall and East London being considered Punjbai hubs. How these regions within London also blossomed as the hub of one particular culture is a matter of policy evaluation that made and make these areas conducive to make one particular culture thrive.

[Last modified: November, 28 2024 07:57 PM]

 

It is a spot where many roads intersect. More people on foot or bike than in cars. Many people are simply walking and not busy on their phones. I cannot help but notice the similarities in clothing styles. But here are some listed observations:

1. Juice across the road from me – El Jugo (possibly latin american/spanish?)
2. M-rider bicycle in orange passes by
3. Mostly black taxis are passing by, or commercial vehicles, less of private cars
4. I spot a Bally canvas tote
5. A taxi in white, instead of black
6. some people are in single layered, light clothing while others are heavily layered. probably different level of acclimatisation to the London weather?
7. A lot of students (identified with the UCL lanyards around their neck)
8. Fake LV suitcase (the make quality tells it)
9. two families dragged luggage past me. (tourist movement also around due to several hotels?)
10. Deliveroo on his bike stopped right in front of me to check his phone maybe for the map.
11. Some workers in yellow neon vests dragging something big
12. Several people with small dogs have walked by
13. many people headphones on – mostly Apple’s Airpod Max
14. cobbled street and no leaves
15. half an hour ago a leaf blower was working at a distance, beyond the juice bar
16. Maximum population walking past me are young aged
17. overheard – aerospace engineering; another guy talking in arabic and carrying a waitrose bag

[Last modified: October, 24 2024 10:26 PM]

The idea of home, identity, and cultural reflection stems from personal experiences as well as the third degree of experiences that I live through the oral history passed onto me. The tragedy of partition and displacement, then economic, health, and social fabric degradation Informs certain perceptions of how Punjabis have faired which might not be true for all Punjabis who possibly didn’t suffer displacement or migrated out before the aftermath of the Green Revolution but maybe faced something in aftermath of Industrial Revolution. I am curious to know how the rest of the community (in London Diaspora particularly) is fairing – their rituals around economics, religion, food, music practices, and more private family dynamics (from the lens of gender, sexuality, power, patriarchy, etc.) and how this also reflects in the object, material, and visual culture. While we might share a common homeland to start with, several other lenses and experiences might be unique to them that make Punjabiyat a unique experience and identity to this diaspora vs. any other diaspora globally, or vs the local in current-day Punjab My lived experiences. Wishing India – ranging from having lived and immersed myself in villages, small towns, bigger towns, cities and bigger metropolitan cities (outside of Punjab too) gave me insights into diverse dynamics in the aforementioned contexts. Is my idea of diaspora, and romance of home/ homeland very outsiders or a colonial ideology?

[Last modified: October, 24 2024 10:26 PM]

The activity takes place in the vicinity of the Department of Anthropology, I walk around observing and absorbing and making mental notes on whether I can identify people and buildings for their cultural, art, or ethnic inclinations/identities. I happen to fail miserably with deciphering these amongst people as the way people express themselves with clothing, body decoration, and accessories are more standardized, sanitized, and generalized, which makes me assume that probably more people are dressing for practicality and less for aesthetic beauty. It could very well be an influence / external force of trying to fit in, or maybe the after-effect of globalization where we are exposed to the things around the world that we evolve out of our individuality and mix up elements of experiences that influence us or mold us continuously. 

The same extends to the architectural representation in the buildings around us – I witness the Gothic, High Renaissance, and also art deco styles of buildings (that blended ideas of beauty and functionality) sitting in the same vicinity of buildings with clean, Bauhaus style of aesthetic – that focuses on function over form, or to be accurate functions over decoration.

Being oversimplified under the minimalism trend was a refreshing change two decades ago but now seems to make everything too sanitary and radically functional over artistic value. The sense of individuality, personal style, and representation is overshadowed by herd mentality (a form of neo-colonisation I believe) in popular culture that reflects in the decisions that drive the world around us. 

This phenomenon of over-simplification and generalized style isn’t far-fetched from the capitalistic industrial revolution that idealizes repetitive, set in stone, mechanical systems, under the garb of efficiency. That brings me to think about how or which of these arguments (decoration or over-simplification) add more value to human life. While great philosophers guided the world to simplify their lives, does it mean you stop enjoying the small pleasures of adorning one’s body or habitat too? I wonder, if the popular “beauty in simplicity” phrase owes to the beauty beyond the surface, maybe in the materials, or in the process, but that is a discussion for another time.

• Questions to ponder – what changes were purely aesthetic decisions (inspired by Nordic approach and sensibilities), and how many were for functional or cost benefits?

[Last modified: October, 24 2024 10:26 PM]

• Themes – idea of home, ancient wisdom of the home culture, oral traditions, objects from home

The idea stems from the personal urge to find home, a place one claims to belong. Having lived in multiple places and observed Punjabi locals and the diaspora within India but outside of Punjab, I am curious to see what the Punjabi diaspora is like in London/somewhere in the UK. What is the idea of home for them? If at all they relate to their ancestral land, what is it that they think they carry of it, I will see what traits or factors or threads I can pick from my observations which they might be subconsciously carrying along (tangible or intangible). Understanding the idea of Punjab from different generations can reveal how the oral history, ideas, and interpretations of this geographic place have evolved. Ethnographic – to know how people today in south hall interpret it and what’s the religion, caste, and class mix, how much part of nature influences their idea of home (since the concept of the land leans strongly on the five rivers, their fertile basin and the name Panj-ab (five rivers) is a testimony of it). After this paragraph is a draft of perspectives I feel, at this moment, are crucial aspects of the Punjabiyat (Punjabi identity). More often, In the second-week blog onwards, I will also consciously be using phonetically correct spelling – Panjab, in my effort to decolonize some irrelevant colonial baggage we carry. The proximity to one of the largest Punjabi diaspora communities in the vicinity of West London, in South Hall could be a good place to start, and I intend to spend time with a Punjabi family here (maybe of both Pakistani and Indian origin) to gauge their idea of home.

[Last modified: October, 1 2024 06:27 PM]

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