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Paper Short Abstract:

How does one conduct traditional ethnographic research of contemporary nomadic groups when the ‘place’ of study can change on a whim? This paper shares the experience of a vanlife researcher in creating a multimodal mobile ethnography combining intensive fieldwork with social media interactions.

Paper Abstract:

How does one conduct traditional ethnographic research of contemporary nomadic groups when the ‘place’ of study can change on a whim? When the closure of national borders, financial limitations, and bureaucratic ritualism constrains the ability to design and carry-out a research plan that meets the traditional idea of an ethnography? In the case of my own research as an international PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne in Australia, such aforementioned constraints left the possibility of pursuing a long-term traditional ethnography in a static place far out of reach. Rather, it became clear that I would have to be innovative and creative in my approach to data collection with the further possibility of the Covid-19 pandemic causing more disruptions to my own mobility in the field. Thus, I designed a multimodal mobile ethnography that consisted of three main methods for data collection to develop a thicker description of vanlife culture in the United States: First, I entered the wide spanning field of the Pacific Northwest to attend various vanlife gatherings to establish rapport and network with community wherein I lived in a Minicooper car full-time over a period of three months. Second, I conducted semi-structured interviews in the field and online via Zoom or direct message message audio. Finally, I maintained connections with dozens of nomads over the course of another twelve months via the social media platform Instagram, viewing their posted story reels, leaving comments, having direct message discussions, or 'liking' their shared content to show support.