FIELD TRAINING SCHOOL AND RESEARCH SEMINAR
URBAN ETHNOGRAPHY AND THEORY
Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, Italy, 18-26 July 2022
With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities, and this proportion set to increase to two-thirds by 2050, the ethnographic study of life in urban settings is urgent and important. Urbanisation proceeding at such a pace has meant increases in the number and size of cities but also continues to alter the social fabric of urban centres, sometimes in profound ways, leading to new policy priorities (such as the globally encompassing Sustainable Development Goals). ‘States of emergency’ (prompted by violence, pandemics, crises) add a further layer of complexity.
Aware of pressing methodological and theoretical questions raised by these multifaceted contemporary urban changes, this Field Training School and Research Seminar was convened on behalf of the International Urban Symposium-IUS by Italo Pardo and Giuliana B. Prato in collaboration with an international group of senior scholars. The working language was English.
The School offered an interactive learning environment and extended opportunities to discuss in depth the rationale and practices of traditional and new research methods and mainstream debates. The primary aim was to train students in the ‘art’ of conducting ethnographic fieldwork and develop the link between ethnographically-based analysis and social theory.
Over 9 full days, the School developed through 21 Teaching Seminars led by a team of senior scholars from the UK, India, Israel, Greece, Turkey, USA, Italy and France, for a total of 38 hours. The Teaching Seminars focused on methodological and theoretical debates, benefiting from the leaders’ wide range of ethnographic, methodological and theoretical expertise to address interrelated topical issues, including urban diversity; migration; informality; processes of legitimation; governance, stereotype and stigma; sport mega-events; rituals; crisis, emergency and conflict; public space, vernacular landscape, heritage, identity.
The School brought together 25 international postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral scholars from from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA.
The in-class work was supplemented by structured city walks and a 1-day focused observational field trip on which students produced field reports that were discussed by the group during dedicated sessions.
With a view to honing and developing junior scholars’ skills as future professionals, the School culminated in a full-day Research Seminar that gave students who are engaged in research the opportunity to present their work, engage in academic debate and benefit from expert feedback from the teaching staff.
Publications. Kirsty Stuart Jepsen’s paper was later revised and published in the peer-reviewed journal Urbanities-Journal of Urban Ethnography, Vol.13, No.1, May 2023. Other select Seminar papers are under revision for publication.
The group enjoyed evening concerts at the splendid Terme Il Tettuccio, a World Heritage Site, and an evening at the medieval hamlet of Montecatini Alto.
This successful international academic endeavour gained local recognition.
Farewell Party
The Venue: Hotel Corallo, Montecatini Terme, Italy
