Environmental Political Ethnography. Methods, Positionality, and Ethical-Emotional Engagements in Multi-Sited Research.
(2026) Collective action & resistance seminar — Location: Université de Sussex (Brighton) (14.April.2026)
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- Abstract
- This talk offers an in-depth exploration of ethnographic methods applied to the study of environmental participation, with a theoretical anchoring in Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory (1985) and a methodological grounding in Cefaï & Berger’s political ethnography (Cefaï & Berger, 2011). Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography conducted in Belgium from 2022 to 2025, it juxtaposes two complementary fields: climate and social justice activism, involving participant observation in campaigns like EACOP alongside digital ethnography of militant podcasts, Instagram stories, and Telegram discussions; and a state-funded institutional participatory device primarily targeting youth from minorities, integrating citizen training and local projects. Emphasis is placed on concrete methodological approaches (field notes, semi-structured interviews, counter-gift dynamics) alongside the tensions of researcher positionality, oscillating between interiority/exteriority statuses, activist-academic dialectics, relational triangulation, and ethico-emotional challenges such as anonymity, institutional accountability, and the affective demands of committed fieldwork. Open to interdisciplinary exchanges across the social sciences, this 45-minute presentation will lead into 45 minutes of discussion to share practical insights and experiences on ethnography in politically charged contexts.
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Vossen, K. (2026). Environmental Political Ethnography. Methods, Positionality, and Ethical-Emotional Engagements in Multi-Sited Research. Collective action & resistance seminar, Université de Sussex (Brighton).