Short Abstract:

This roundtable will explore dramas and controversies in hobby communities, analyse them with ethno-/anthropological theory and explain them in a way which is accessible and fun to a non-academic audience. The roundtable will be recorded and will be published as episodes of the podcast ‘Dramanauts’.

Long Abstract:

“Unwriting” is an invitation to address the orthodox practices of academic research, where an air of authority and intellectual certainty is often expected for work to be taken seriously, resulting in our research remaining largely inaccessible to those outside academia. Informal expressions of ethno-/anthropological experimentation—where wonder and bewilderment can fuel speculative discussions and open-ended analysis—are scarce, to the detriment of the discipline.

“Dramanauts”, a light-hearted podcasting project, emerged from the desire to recapture the sense of fun and curiosity that originally drew us to our disciplines. In each episode, an ethno-/anthropologist delves into a hobby community, analysing controversies or moments of drama within it. While perhaps appearing trivial to bystanders, we are convinced these moments can teach us about these communities and what is important to them, and maybe also about ourselves. Our goal is not to patronise, instead we are driven by genuine curiosity and a deep appreciation for the diverse forms social life can take.

This roundtable invites researchers to explore a controversy or drama within a hobby community of their choosing, not necessarily related to their main area of research, and to share an analysis of it which is accessible and fun to a non-academic audience. The roundtable will be recorded and published as episodes of the podcast “Dramanauts”. In doing so, we will contribute to “unwriting” our discipline by making it more accessible, while at the same time encouraging our peers to occasionally ‘let their guard down’ and step out of their professional roles.

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