Paper Short Abstract:

The aim of this communication is to present the uses of dialectogram methodology, from a comparative perspective. Using the example of two punk spaces, these detailed cartographical depictions enable researchers to grasp the imaginaries at play, as expressed by the communities themselves.

Paper Abstract:

A dialectogram is a highly detailed cartographical depiction of a space inscribed with the social life of that place, as developed by Mitch Miller (2016). This creative rendering of social space has been adapted as a participatory methodology in punk places in Belfast, Northern Ireland (by Donaghey with the Warzone Collective at their social centre, 2018) and in Val d’Ajol, France (by Tuaillon Demésy and Donaghey with the ‘Narcissiens’ of Chez Narcisse bar, 2021/2022).

This communication will compare the deployment of the dialectogram as ethnographic methodology in these contexts, in order to highlight its usefulness as a “do-it-together”, non-exploitative, co-creative approach towards developing research insights tied to space and place.

First, the aim will be to grasp the issues involved in this methodological approach. The punk and anarchist associations of Chez Narcisse and the Warzone Centre underpin this emphasis on non-exploitative methodological approaches. The meaningful inclusion of the research community at (almost) all stages of the research process, from planning and drawing to exhibiting the outputs, also echoes indigenist methodological considerations.

Secondly, the focus will be on the imaginaries thus exposed – insights that are distinct from discourse. Moving from physical space to social space, dialectograms capture in a visual form the history, symbols and stories associated with these spaces. Crucially, this graphic representation reflects the importance of these spaces as a symbol (or container of a multitude of clashing symbols) and offers a window into the social imaginary of each place/space, as expressed collaboratively by the communities themselves.