Paper short abstract:

During COVID, I took to the woods for daily walks; my only certainty in uncertain times. Walking expanded my sensory frame (my umvelt) for reading the environment. This paper draws on a year of walking to trace links between sensory experiences, cognitive shifts, and walking as "slow" research.

Paper long abstract:

In "An Immense World," Ed Yong explores the concept of umwelt – the unique sensory world of an organism - noting that an organism’s senses filter through multiple stimuli to capture what is most relevant and to filter out what is not useful. Those filters create a sense of certainty about food, shelter, threats/allies, or mates. When COVID sent most people indoors, I took to the woods for daily walks. As a heightened sensory experience, walking was my only certainty in uncertain times. Each day I became more aware of my umwelt and how I read the environment.

Yet, our umwelt is biased. We overlay our five senses onto the umwelt of other organisms, limiting what we might learn about other sensory experiences. While walking reduces the risk of cognitive impairment, it may also enhance cognitive processes. It may heighten awareness of our own umwelt and open our minds to the possibilities of others.

Alexandra Horowitz, in her exploration of a city block through the eyes of eleven “experts,” discovered that viewing our world through different perceptual frames strengthens our ability to take “an informed imaginative leap” toward deeper understanding. As I walked, I began to re-map my community through the experiences of the trails, the birds, the rivers, mushrooms and mushroom hunters, people's backyards, and my own sensory awareness of its history. The result is a “slow” ethnography. This paper draws on a year of walking to explore links between sensory experiences, cognitive shifts, and enhanced cultural understanding.

Paper short abstract:

Walk in the forest is a method worth of exploration, reflection and systematization. It is a 'natural' method for conducting research among highly mobile forest people like the Ashaninka with whom I worked in Peruvian Amazonia. It enables to explore pre-representational knowledge of interlocutors.

Paper long abstract:

In ethnobotanical manuals "walk in the wood" has been described as an effective technique to collect plant material accompanied by relevant ecological and ethnographic information (Martin 2004). During my research on migrant ethnobotany in Misiones, Argentina, the walk in the forest was one of a few methods I explored, but since I have started working with Indigenous Ashaninka people in the Peruvian Amazonia, it has become an essential form of exploring Ashaninka medicinal and edible flora. Why does walk in the forest work so well in Indigenous Amazonian contexts? According to Laura Rival, this is the most 'natural' condition for conducting ethnobotanical research among highly mobile forest people (Rival 2009). This method has also other important advantages. First, when collecting information and herbarium specimens on particular plants in the forest we evoke to mostly pre-representational knowledge of our interlocutors. Hence we can capture the sensorial way of knowing and relating to plants, apart from the cognitive level. Second, it is in the forest that people are willing to share their stories about the encounters with malevolent spirits and devils, which are rarely told in the village. The trigger for telling the stories are not only plants we meet, but the very being in the forest and sensing it. This method may have potential application in the European context as well, especially in the multispecies ethnography and anthropology of the forest (Konczal 2018). Therefore walk in the forest is worth of further exploration, reflection and systematization as a method.

Paper short abstract:

Walking as a method is omnipresent in the history of ethnographic disciplines, and is thus deeply inscribed in the professional habitus. Still, it remains unclear how walking has contributed to the negotiation of epistemological interests during different periods of the disciplinary past.

Paper long abstract:

A look at the history of knowledge of anthropological-ethnological disciplines reveals walking as a central epistemic practice of the first half of the 20th century. Since the beginnings of the discipline, it always has been a genuinely preferred research method, especially in so-called "outreach" subject areas such as house research, collecting folklore and folk dance research etc. Walking was then associated with precise observation, with "closeness to the people" and with a new understanding of the public and political functionalisation of folkloristic research. Although many of the proponents of walking as an ethnological method were willing to put their work at the service of political functions and were later criticised for this, this interestingly did not change later on the preference for walking as a method, for example in the newly establishing field of urban anthropology.

In a first step, the paper proposes to trace the hoped-for insights that were combined in the use of walking as a method, drawing from examples of Austrian and Swiss folklorists. To what extent did this type of walking research enable imaginings of a connection with the mountain population being researched? In a second step, the shifts that made walking a habitual method of urban anthropology will be illuminated. Although other references were formulated, walking was nevertheless given a similar perspective. Walking methods thus become tangible as research practices that connect different and contradictory epistemic interests in the history of our discipline.

Paper short abstract:

This paper questions the possible implications of an onto-epistemological-methodological understanding of walking and storytelling as mutually constitutive knowledge practices in relation to walking methods, but also more generally to the understanding of human modes of relation to the environment.

Paper long abstract:

Mountains are often imagined and shaped as a counter-world in which humans are supposed to find and experience the wild and primal and become more self-aware than elsewhere. In the current climate crisis, however, these are also increasingly perceived as particularly endangered. In my dissertation project, I am exploring practices of walking and storytelling in the Swiss Alps to learn about the multiple onto-epistemological practices that are continuously and situationally negotiated, embodied, and materialized in processes and practices related to the " emergence of the mountain." By participating in various practices – hiking, farming, measuring, and mapping – I engage in various processes of movement in the broadest sense, all of which contribute to how a mountain is made, known, and shaped in relation to practice: These movements are always physical and material, but also narrative and semiotic. How do I and others enact mountain worlds in the practice of walking and storytelling, and how are forms of representation explored to mediate these movements between experience, interpretation, and description? To what extent does this make common assumptions about forms of knowing; the question of how acting, knowing, and being relate to each other, uncertain? I will discuss two examples from my first steps in the field (geomatic and geomantic practices of surveying mountain environments) to ask in what ways methods of walking can contribute to broadening and deepening understandings of both the epistemic practices of different actors and my own engagement in its relations to the field.

Paper short abstract:

How did Norwegian hunters and walkers impact one another's activities, and how did these activities change with time? At the turn of the 20th century hunting was commodified. The judicial impact of this commodification changed land use rights and ownership from commons to private land.

Paper long abstract:

In the 1700s and 1800s, local hunting in Norway was an ambiguous and dangerous activity. Hunters walked, stalked and trapped animals when the practice of transhumance came to an end in the autumn and when nature spirits reclaimed their dwelling rights to mountain dairies and grazing places. How did the hunters navigate hunting game that belonged to the spirit world, in landscapes that were perceived as commons, and how did their practices change with the trajectory of time? At the turn of the 20th century hunting was commodified. The judicial impact of this commodification changed land use rights and land ownership from commons to private land. Walking without stalking however remained a common right, and developed as an activity in its own right. Has the judicial door that hunting opened up has dovetailed with the nature appreciation of walking and trekking, impacting and accelerating present changes in land-use further?

Paper short abstract:

Using empirical examples where certain ways of walking are taught and learnt, this presentation explores how ways of walking are connected to the individual’s emotions and embodied experience as well as with cultural norms and values concerning social relations, work, health, and morals.

Paper long abstract:

My research focuses learning processes where movements, including certain ways of walking, are taught in processes also involving transmission of certain attitudes and ideals. This presentation focuses two empirical examples where ideal ways of walking are presented alongside certain values and morals, and where my own walking has provided important experiences and analytical insights.

The ideal way of walking differs greatly between Somalia and Sweden, especially for women. In an integration-project in Stockholm, Sweden, newly arrived Somali refugees are taught new skills, including how to walk and talk to make a good impression on potential employers. This puts the immigrants in a position of uncertainty, navigating new ways of moving as well as conflicting ideals and morals.

Classes in Middle Eastern dance include learning new ways of walking. The taken for granted process of walking is un-learnt and re-learnt, sometimes leading to feelings of uncertainty. When mastered, however, the new ways of walking can be used to deal with situations of uncertainty in dance as well as in other social contexts.

During fieldwork among the Somali refugees, it became clear that the way they walked and moved was very different from my own, something that led to both frustration and analytical insights. In contrast, my insider position in the Middle Eastern dance classes made it easy to become part of the group and concentrate on the learning process. However, as it turned out, my own experience and understanding of the movements was not always similar to the other participants´.

Paper short abstract:

The purpose is to discuss possibilities to write autoethnographies with use of walking methodology. Uncertainties concerns combinations between memories, from the perspective of a girl’s observations during the 1960’s, and analysis with distinctions through experiences of an ethnology researcher.

Paper long abstract:

Once the environment was very well-known for me, during my childhood in the 1960’s. After my family moved from this area, I hardly have been there ever since. Very seldom under the latest 40 years have I visit this town. When I will return to my former housing district, I do not belong to the area anymore. As a researcher, I am curious about my possibilities to write an autoethnography with use of walking methodology. In a former project I have practiced a go-a-long method with inhabitants who strolled around, looked at parks, streets, and buildings and told their live stories. When I now will walk in my own footsteps, it will be necessary to reflect over which kinds of memories the environment can help me to recognize. Is it possible to reach any beneficial links to the past with this method? I suppose some of the buildings are not there anymore and all homes I remember are gone. Younger generations have settled down in these blocks. My uncertainty is also connected to awareness of memories’ fragmentation. Challenges I will struggle with are related to my ambitions. I want to give attention to some memories from the perspective of a girl’s observations during the 1960’s and combine the analysis with distinctions I have received through my experiences as an ethnology researcher over the years.

Paper short abstract:

Using ethnographic studies of Nordic pilgrim culture as a starting point, this paper presents the term ‘stumbling’ as a potential tool for understanding walking practice(s). The paper explores stumbling in relation to ethnographic methodology, virtuality, and future(s).

Paper long abstract:

In recent decades, European pilgrimage trails have become the subject of renewed public interest. Every year, thousands of pilgrims or travelers walk trails toward destinations such as Santiago de Compostela in Spain, or Nidaros Cathedral in Norway. This phenomenon presents an opportunity for increased scholarly reflection not only on pilgrims’ walking practice, but also on destination-oriented walking more generally. This paper presents one such reflection by using the term ‘stumbling’ as a tool or metaphor for understanding both pilgrim walking practice and the methodological potential(s) of walking as an ethnographic tool. More specifically, the paper will build on the author’s previous studies of trail-goer experiences along the S:t Olavsleden pilgrimage trail in Sweden/Norway to illustrate a paradoxical dynamic that is characteristic of modern pilgrim walking. This dynamic is one in which the journeyer simultaneously moves along an imagined and pre-determined path, and also continually strays from this path, spinning into ‘portals of sensation’ that constantly re-make the journey. Using ‘stumbling’ as a rhetorical summation of this dynamic, the author moves beyond the subject of pilgrim experience, arguing for the relevance of stumbling in understanding how walking works as a world- and knowledge-making tool in ethnographic research. Specifically, the paper argues for how stumbling (and walking) can help scholars work with — dance with — the dynamic between actuality and virtuality, and unforeseeable futures.

Paper short abstract:

This paper address walking as a method for pilgrimage studies, drawing on fieldwork experiences from pilgrimage routes leading to historical shrines in Norway. The pilgrimage landscapes referred to are geographical, social and digital.

Paper long abstract:

Walking is central for pilgrimage, both as embodied practice and metaphor. Contemporary pilgrimages to historical shrines are provided with temporal depth through the notion of “walking in the footsteps” of historical pilgrims journeying to the same destinations in the past. To study pilgrimage through ethnographic fieldwork entails practical as well as ethical issues, such as how to balance participatory observation with social engagement and the physical strain of undertaking long walks. Researchers are of course just as likely to become tired and get blisters or other injuries as other participants in long-distance pilgrimages across uneven terrain and under shifting weather conditions, while simultaneously managing the role as an observer. Shared experiences of pilgrimage as a walking practice among researchers and pilgrims, combined with reflections about such physical journeys during interviews, are viewed as central parts of the research process aiming to gain knowledge about contemporary pilgrimage.

Drawing on fieldwork experiences from contemporary pilgrimage routes leading to historical shrines in Norway, this paper address walking as a method for pilgrimage studies. Experiences of navigating pilgrimage landscapes will be discussed in relation to geographical, social and digital pilgrimage landscapes. This includes signposts and guides as navigation tools in geographical landscapes, as well as the usage of maps and written descriptions of the same routes in digital and printed mediations. Further, examples will be provided of the usefulness of maps, images and video as part of analysis and research dissemination.

Paper short abstract:

I explore these questions: How does the uncertainty that the Camino presents to the pilgrims function as root for various folk beliefs? What elements of traditional folk practices persist for the modern pilgrim? What do particular locations offer pilgrims to assuage the feelings of uncertainty?

Paper long abstract:

The centuries-old Camino de Santiago offers a living laboratory for folklorists to explore the many meanings of walking. In this paper I will explore four key questions: How does the uncertainty presented to the pilgrims as they walk along the Camino Frances function as root for various folk beliefs? Given the changes wrought by the commercialized contemporary reality of the pilgrimage, what elements of traditional folk practices persist? What do two particular sites, Belorado and Astorga, along the Camino de Santiago offer pilgrims to assuage the feelings of uncertainty? What are ways that the pilgrimage creates social groups as walkers invariably come together and create a sense of community with fellow walkers, in a way seeking certainty one way or another while walking. Written as a braided paper that includes my own personal testimonio of having walked the Camino and poetry along with ethnographic findings from the fourth time I walked along a pilgrimage, I theorize using a Sentipensante (Rendon 2015) approach that bridges the various aspects of walking when there is a particular spiritual purpose as opposed to walking for other purposes such as for sport or exercise. This innovative method in folkloristics and ethnology allows for a decentering of the subject and a more holistic and all-encompassing perspective whereby walking, in this case, can be assessed as part of a pilgrim’s search for community and for belonging

Paper short abstract:

This paper approaches walking in the post-earthquake city of Zagreb as a research process of participation in emergent atmospheres that reflect, subvert or oppose general atmosphere of uncertainty continually produced by political decisions through perpetutaing socio-spatial unjustice.

Paper long abstract:

In March and December 2020 two strong earthquakes hit Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, causing the loss of one life and great material damage. Almost three years since those events, very few steps have been made towards successfull post-earthquake recovery, leaving many citizens displaced or living in materially unstable buildings. At the same time, cracks in destabilized facades permanently threaten spaces beneath them, namely sidewalks as transitory public spaces of great significance. Walking in an unsafe and unstable city adds new layers to the qualitative technique of „walking ethnography“ (Gulin Zrnić and Škrbić Alempijević 2019:30) apprehended as a mobile interview. The aim of this paper is to broaden the concept of walking ethnography to all walking practices in the fieldwork setting, including solitary research walks, walking in organized protests and walking during informal conversations. By doing so, walking becomes an entry to „knowing in, about and through atmospheres“ (Sumartojo and Pink 2019), serving as a methodological and analytical tool which enables approaching experiental worlds of others (and our own) and better understanding of „conditions in which atmospheres emerge and the meanings that people ascribe to them“ (ibid.: 6). I propose that walking research practices performed in the center of Zagreb contribute to emergence of atmospheres whose temporal, spatial and affective dimensions reflect politically and historically produced socio-spatial injustices and in different ways address general atmosphere of uncertainty. Also, such approach reveals uncertainty inherent to atmospheres themselves, ucertainty of moving through materially unstable environmet and the one regarding city futures.

Gulin Zrnić, Valentina i Nevena Škrbić Alempijević. 2019. Grad kao susret – etnografije zagrebačkih trgova. Zagreb: Hrvatsko etnološko društvo, Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku.

Pink, Sarah i Shanti Sumartojo. 2019. Amospheres and the Experiental World – Theory and Methods. Oxon, New York: Routledge.

Paper short abstract:

Modern museums implicitly promise to make us more knowledgeable as we walk their halls. In walking the museum, however, we also become aware of the paths not walked and the knowledge not gain. This paper explores how walking reveals the attainment of knowledge and awareness of knowledge's limits.

Paper long abstract:

Modern museums, built on what Alice Proctor calls the ‘classroom’ model, implicitly promise that we will be smarter and more knowledgeable about the world when we leave than when we enter. Many museums offer specific pathways for the acquisition of specific knowledges – a path for families to the most awe-inspiring and child-friendly objects; a path for archeology buffs; a path to objects that centered on a theme, LGBTQ+ say, or colonialisms. Further, it is well accepted by now that such pathways are a form of culturally specific knowledge, encultured training in ways of seeing. Yet, there is a correlation, these museum curatorial departments suggest, between the process of walking through the museum itself and the process of gaining knowledge, a correlation built from the narrative structure of folk tales. In walking the museum, however, we also become aware of how much we are not seeing, the paths we chose not to walk and thus the knowledge we will not gain. This paper explores both sides – the attainment of knowledge through walking and the increasing knowledge of what we do not know that such walking reveals.

Paper short abstract:

Digital environments such as locative gaming apps creates different spatial regimes that add to, enhance or may contest other physical ones. This paper will explore how digital walks play out and what effect such instructions may have on why, how and where you walk.

Paper long abstract:

Digital environments such as locative gaming apps creates different spatial regimes that add to, enhance or may contest other physical ones. This paper will explore how digital walks, in this context denoting physical walking supported and instructed by way of digital Scavenger apps, play out and what effect such instructions may have on why, how and where you walk.

Digital walks are in increasing numbers being linked to heritage sites appearing as possible targets or posts. This is the case in Norway as elsewhere in the world and may potentially have an important role and impact on heritagisation processes. By directing and managing the user’s attention and experience of space and place the apps facilitate and may contribute to new sets of heritage topographies, lingering between the physical and the digital, the imagined and real, the tangible and intangible. This paper will explore these perspectives by ways of a few examples.

Paper short abstract:

I present how walking is connected to the aesthetic experience we receive from our surroundings. Walking is action with rhythm. Daily life follows a rhythm. Rhythm is necessary in a research process as well, but breaks and changes in it provoke thought and generate interest.

Paper long abstract:

I present how walking is connected to the aesthetic experience we receive from our surroundings. Walking is a theme in my doctoral dissertation research, focusing on the aesthetic experience of residential areas. My central method is photo-elicitation; in which the photos were taken by participants. In different stages of my work, I have walked in selected residential areas both alone and with the participators.

Walking is action with rhythm. Daily life follows a rhythm. Furthermore, the visual form of the urban environment contains rhythm. My presentation observes our aesthetic experience of the urban environment, considering the merging of different types of rhythm; visual, temporal and the rhythm of physical movement. For theoretical reflection, I use Henri Lefebvre's Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time and Everyday Life, for example.

Dérive walking has a starting point and ending point. The walker often returns to the starting point. Repetitive rounds make yet another form of rhythm. The knowledge gained of an unknown area increases effectively with each round. I want to explore how a researcher can combine methodical purposefulness with the flaneur’s attitude, which remains open to chance and free movement. Rhythm is necessary, but breaks and changes in it provoke thought and generate interest.

Paper short abstract:

In this roundtable-workshop, we invite all participants of these walking sessions to draw connections and discuss the varied ways we can further steps towards walking-as-method in folkloristics and ethnology.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on specific questions and provocations posed by the authors of these walking sessions, this roundtable-workshop invites all participants to a dérive through the panel's presentations with the aim to find both crossroads and new paths. By juxtaposing and comparing walking methods and approaches we explore together how we may benefit from walking methodologies. Drawing on insights from the work of the panellists we will delve into walking and movement as a research theme as well as examine how walking-as-method may also be a useful tool to study other issues and themes. Questions we will encounter in our joint perambulation (may) include: How can we use our own embodied walking experience in our research? How can we document ephemeral practices such as walking? What tools do we have to discern easily overlooked patterns of movement in our material? What is the particular significance of walking methods for ethnology and folkloristics?