Short Abstract:

In this participatory outdoor walk, participants will experience firsthand the advantages and limitations of walking as a method in anthropological research and teaching. We will also share personal experiences with walking as a tool for teaching and mentoring.

Long Abstract:

Walking is one of humankind's most basic acts. Yet, beyond its everyday utility, walking often carries other pursuits along with it. People walk to relax, to exercise or to complete a pilgrimage. There are many different types of 'walkers', from the long-distance hikes of the Maasai warriors to the leisurely urban strolls of the Parisian flâneurs. Some walk to stimulate the faculty of human imagination. In this participatory outdoor walk, participants will experience firsthand the advantages and limitations of walking as a method in anthropological research and teaching. Many anthropologists have engaged in walking during their fieldwork—walking with informants, walking from one ethnographic 'activity' to the other, or walking as a way to relax—but so far there has been little reflection on what the practice of walking does to our (anthropological) understanding of the subjects we study, whether these are mobile or not. We will also share personal experiences with walking as a tool for teaching and mentoring, and the possibilities this offers in terms of linking thoughts with feelings, legacies with ephemera, materiality with imaginaries, and mobility with immobility.

IMPORTANT

- You need to pre-register to be able to participate in this laboratory. This can be done by sending an e-mail message to the convenor (noel.salazar@soc.kuleuven.be). There is only room for 30 participants (so 'first come, first served').

- What is needed during the laboratory? Good walking shoes, protection against the sun, water (or another drink) and something to take notes.