P05a


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The crisis of communication 
Convenors:
Federica Manfredi (University of Torino (Italy))
Lucia Portis (University of Turin)
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Format:
Panel Discussion
Start time:
21 March, 2021 at
Time zone: Europe/London
Session slots:
1

Short Abstract:

Sometimes words can't express what we would like to say. Communication seems to be in crisis when logocentric logic shows its limits. How can anthropologists go beyond words to communicate with research participants? And after fieldwork, can words be enriched by other communicative strategies?

Long Abstract:

Crisis challenges daily routines and comfort zones, influencing how we perceive experiences, communicate emotions and elaborate thoughts. Sometimes it's hard to put experiences into words and to have access to people's lives. Anthropologists can experiment with new communication strategies using creative tools, adapting fieldwork methodologies in order to go beyond a logocentric logic. Creative self-narratives can turn what is incommunicable into drawings, poems, sounds and other sensory inputs that fight against the crisis of the communication. Words can be substituted, enriched or completed to create connections.

At the same time, creative strategies of communication can be used after fieldwork to disseminate research findings not necessarily anchored to logocentric and oral communications. Multiplying research efforts, theatre, art exhibition, songs and creative laboratories can reach audiences beyond the scientific community of anthropologists.

This panel seeks contributions on creative ways to communicate during and after fieldwork, challenging ordinary communication and requiring creative strategies of expression.

How can anthropologists support creative communication with research or project participants? How do relationships develop when logocentric expressions are not the main strategy of communication? How are intimacy and trust affected by alternative communication strategies? What is the role of objects and handicrafts during and after fieldwork? How can creative communication help rethink the interaction between the anthropologist and the general public?

Accepted papers:

Session 1