GRADE Initiative "Varieties of Ethnographic Research"
Focus and general goals
The GRADE initiative aims to bring together ethnographic approaches and methods from different disciplines, as well as geographical locations. In this vein, the collective reflection of various methods, strategies, techniques, tools, or modes of analysis in ethnographic research is the basis for our work. We want to understand the potentials and limits, but also find synergies between our particular ethnographic projects. Rather than committing to a “standard” way of doing ethnography, this GRADE initiative acknowledges the varieties of ethnographic inquiry hailing from disciplinary conventions, field-sensitive adaptations, and/or object-centred formations.
Our goal is to bring together different experts and scholars in regular meetings such as workshops, symposia, conferences, seminars, and informal discussion rounds as well as data sessions, summer schools and literature review sessions. In addition to that, we are also planning supervision groups based on peer-to-peer advice. The supervision group may help researchers to share issues or ongoing problems by taking advice from different experts from various disciplines (e.g. Sociology, Social & Cultural Anthropology, Political Sciences, Ethnology, Geography).
Activities
In the regular sessions, we plan according to the current needs of the participants and their individual phases of research. The sessions may be centred along issues such as particular research themes, the organisation of ethnographic research, research ethics, research positions, funding, concepts of the field and their access, data collection and analysis, presentation of data and dealing with unexpected circumstances in the ethnographic research.
We want to support especially ethnographic writing (thesis, articles, or other forms) in various phases of the academic career and in different ways. In this manner, we create a room for sharing data and concepts and for networking between researchers with different backgrounds.
It is particularly important to us that we contribute to a healthy(-ier) academic environment.
Contact
If you are interested in joining the GRADE initiative, participate in our regular sessions or if you have suggestions or advice, please contact Markus Rudolfi.
Members
Naomi Bi - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Deep Chand - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: "Understanding the Escalation and De-Escalation of Conflict: A Case of Citizenship (Amendment) Act [CAA: 2019] in India"
Felix Glenk FB05, Department of Psychology and Sport Science
Alina Gombert - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: “Shaping agricultural futures: Contested technologies of anticipation”
Hansjörg Graul - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Hartmann Viona - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Beste Irem Köse - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: "(Dis)embodied Processes: Anticipatory Logics of Oocyte Cryopreservation"
Justine Leret - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Annabelle Müller - FB11, Department of Geosciences/Geographies
Nils Richterich - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: “Subjects of Nature. Anticipatory law between 'nature fixation' and relationality”
Timo Roßmann - FB08, Department of Philosophy and History
Markus Rudolfi - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: "Doing Rewilding. Following Conservation Biologists through Multispecies Resurgence"
Tim Seitz - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: "Rules through behavioral experiments. An ethnography of behavioral governmental practices" (awarded with Wilhelm-Bender-Dissertations-Preis 2023)
Tobias Wagner - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Deepali Wighe - FB03, Department of Social Sciences
Working title of the dissertation: "Knowing Nomadic and Denotified Tribes. An institutional ethnography"
External:
Rupert Neuhöfer – Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
