This paper takes point of departure in a collection of drawn notes made during my fieldwork in Uganda 2014-2016 (see http://ethnographicfieldnotes.blogspot.dk/). I explore what they are drawings of and develop an argument in favor of drawings in ethnographic research and representation.
Paper long abstract:
This paper takes point of departure in a collection of drawn notes made during my fieldwork in northern Uganda 2014-2016 (see http://ethnographicfieldnotes.blogspot.dk/). I explore what is captured in the drawings, which revolve around concrete situations as I experienced them during fieldwork. To use thin pens and watercolors has allowed me to capture non-verbal aspects of fieldwork - atmospheres and moods - in a non-verbal way. The drawings consist of excerpts of conversations between my interlocutors and me, material details characteristic of my field, shades and light, and small, personal comments. They are made by my hands, but they spring from actual encounters. In this sense, the drawn notes reflect a mix of what is drawn and the drawer.
To draw create a space for reflection for the drawer that is not only based on verbalization and to look at drawings spur the reader's curiosity in a different way than words do. Therefore, I argue that drawn notes are highly relevant in relation to ethnographic methodology as well as representation.