Week 8 | Seminar with Linda
14 March 2022
In this seminar, Professor Linda, a sound artist studying the senses, introduced us to her project and showed us how sensory ethnography is produced.
The professor says sound can be used as a culture to express certain things that are about the people of the area. The senses trigger emotional behaviour. Yet studying sound and presenting sensory experiences is a challenging task.
Presentation of the project results
Professor Linda says that as a PhD in sociology she has to present her research in words, but as an artist she is able to present the data in a different way, creatively, (an interdisciplinary way) to communicate a different experience to people.
(A book of 300,000 words and a sound installation/exhibition/website)
The choice of project subject, the choice of methodology
The choice of the subject is important in the initiation of the project and we have had an insight into how to create a research subject in week 5. As in week 5, we should try to analyse the research subject from multiple perspectives (of different disciplines).
Once the object has been identified, what methodology should be used to research the object? What methodologies should be used to explore the space? Regarding methodology, we should review what work has been done by previous theorists and think about whether this work can support my project and help me explore my work?
On building an interdisciplinary methodology. (Innovations based on the characteristics of the project itself)
The professor mentions that the methodology of social research is mainly interviews, observations, mainly recording people’s words, interactions with each other, etc. However, since the subject of the professor’s project is the senses, she augmented the methodology. The project collected information about sign language and its physical, social and cultural impact. Methodology can help a project collect data and the right methodology can make the collection of receipts scientific and reliable for the project to move forward.
After an introduction to her project, Professor Linda asked us to group up and go to different corners for a brief exploration. Our group chose to visit the café at the ECA and we took a field trip to record the kitchen of the café in the form of a field survey, including the staff, machines and sounds inside. We also observed the garden paths.
After half an hour we returned to the classroom and the professor asked us to analyse the data we had obtained
You picked up on this approach quickly and produced some useful fieldnotes. You don’t reflect on what you may have learned or experienced here, however. What did you learn regarding this particular research method? What did you learn regarding the design of your research methodology more broadly? Remember that the Portfolio is a space for such critical reflection, it’s not simply a record of what happened in each class.