Short Abstract:

The Third-Order Observation Lab transforms the apprentice-space of the seminar into a creative space where ethnography, and second-order reflections, will be presented as material for third-order observation - reflection on institutional practice, collaboration, and the purpose of projects.

Long Abstract:

The Third-Order Observation Lab is a conscious effort to bracket the apprentice-space of the anthropology seminar and remake it into an open and creative space in which ethnographic observation, and second-order reflections, will be presented as multimedia and multi-sensory material for third-order observation - reflection on institutional practice, collaboration, and the purpose of projects.

The Third-Order Observation Lab uses raw-form ethnographic observations taken from para-ethnographic projects on transnational elites, central banking, and the world of counter-terror security, inviting participants to consider second-order observations, before reflecting at a different order. The invitation to participants is truly open, as we aim to crowdsource answers to ethnographic questions. The Lab is dynamic, using recorded "voices," fractured images, sensory disruption, and crowdsourced responses to provoke, challenge and think differently. As the discipline reflects on transformation and hope, and as we look critically at the constraints placed on knowledge by embedded practices that sustain institutional power, the Third-Order Observation Lab opens ethnography to productive critique.

The Third-Order Observation Lab is a radically reimagined graduate-level seminar room. The contemporary floods into the sensory space (the polyphonic "field") as audio recordings of research participants and (disconnected) still-image shows and short films. The Lab is hybrid, with in situ convenors responding to a blended audience, the virtual participants connecting using EASA's preferred modality. A convenor will facilitate online interaction with an audience that has no upper limit.