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Paper short abstract

Drawing on research on legacies of post-war displacements in Central Europe, this presentation advocates for the development of a new vocabulary to better capture the diverse realities of contemporary ethnographic practice.

Paper long abstract

Drawing on the concept of Patchwork Ethnography, this presentation examines how ethnographic practice is shaped by everyday decisions about child care, commuting, and caregiving responsibilities. I focus on my research in post-displacement Central Europe, specifically on the material remnants left by expelled populations after 1945 and subsequently utilized by incoming populations and their descendants. I connect the fragmented and partial nature of my data with the dispersed and episodic character of my fieldwork, arguing for the significance of such practices that often fall outside conventional definitions of ethnography. This presentation advocates for the development of new vocabulary to better capture the diverse realities of contemporary ethnographic practice.