Experimental Forms of Ethnography
Experimental Forms of Ethnography is an activity-based module within the subject Methods, Techniques and Ethics of Ethnographic Research, focused on exploring everyday spaces as complex cultural, social, and ecological zones, offering a productive site for examining mobility, identity, memory, labour, heritage, and environmental change.
The activity emphasises experimentation with ethnographic forms alongside methodological rigour. Students will engage with classic and contemporary ethnographic techniques (participant observation, field notes) while also experimenting with forms of ethnographic representation, such as visual, sensory, narrative/literary, collaborative, and reflexive approaches. Particular attention is given to how form, medium, and researcher positionality shape ethnographic knowledge.
Through remote lectures, individual fieldwork exercises, and joint critical discussion, students will reflect on ethical questions arising in ethnographic research, including consent, representation, power relations, and responsibility towards research participants.
The activity encourages students to think critically about how ethnographic methods adapt to specific social and environmental contexts, and how knowledge production is shaped by forms of representation.
Overall, the module aims to strengthen students’ methodological awareness while fostering creative and ethically grounded ethnographic practice.
General learning outcomes
- LO1 Apply core ethnographic methods in a concrete research setting
- LO2 Reflect on the relationship between method, form, and knowledge production
- LO3 Experiment with ethnographic forms
- LO4 Identify and address ethical challenges in ethnographic research
- LO5 Analyse everyday spaces as complex environments
- LO6 Articulate methodological choices in relation to context and ethics
| On-site training at: | – |
| Assessment method: | Report/Presentation |
| Prerequisites for participating students: | Enrolment in, or prior completion of, an introductory course in ethnography, anthropology, or qualitative research methods. Basic familiarity with core approaches of ethnology and anthropology. Willingness to engage in field-based work, collaborative learning, and reflexive analysis. Openness to methodological experimentation and critical self-reflection. |
| Certification: | EU-CONEXUS certificate of attendance |
Thematic area:
Ethnographic research methods; qualitative methodologies; cultural analysis of coastal and hinterland spaces; reflexive and multimodal ethnography; ethics of fieldwork.
Mentor:
Mario Katić, PhD, Associate professor
University:
University of Zadar
Faculty/Department:
Department of Ethnology and Anthropology
Mentor’s email address:
PhD Leader:
Tomislav Augustinčić; Matea Korda
PhD Leader’s email address:
Start date:
08/04/2026
Closing date:
12/06/2026
Deadline for applications:
05/04/2026
Physical presence mandatory:
NO
Duration of physical presence:
N/A
Only online courses:
YES
