Paper short abstract:

This presentation shows the engagement of emotions on the field and its actants, as well as on the researcher's side. It presents solutions to deal with the emotional engagement, using the methodological involvement of the senses for dealing with emotions as productive part of ethnographie research.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation explores the sensual and emotional engagement in two dimensions: The emotional process of the field's actants but also the emotional engagement of the researcher whilst doing fieldwork. Therefore I mainly discuss data from moving interviews during the research process of my PhD on spatial relations in triathlon.

After Merleau-Ponty (1974) and Drew Leder (1990), the connectedness of body and mind and therefore the inter-relatedness of physical practices and sensual engagement are obvious. Sports allow engaging deeply with the sensual and emotional processes (Groth/Krahn 2017). The example of research on triathlon sheds light on emotional processes like getting in touch with personal limits, or crossing the finish line. At the same time, the involved researcher engages with emotions during the research process.

Ethnographic research allows not only to reflect the involvement of emotions, but also uses those aspects of fieldwork in ways which widen the understanding. Therefore I present ways of methodological involvement of the senses for dealing with emotions as productive part of ethnographic research.