Walking Methods : Biographical Research on the Move

This book introduces and critically explores walking as an innovative method for doing social research, showing how its sensate and kinaesthetic attributes facilitate connections with lived experiences, journeys and memories, communities and identities. The book situates walking methods historically, sociologically, and in relation to biographical and arts-based research, as well as new work on mobilities, the digital, spatial, and the sensory. The book is organised into three sections: theorising; experiencing; and imagining walking as a new method for doing biographical research. There is a key focus upon the Walking Interview as a Biographical Method (WIBM) on the move to usefully explore migration, memory, and urban landscapes, as part of participatory, visual, and ethnographic research with marginalised communities and artists and as re-formative and transgressive. The book concludes with autobiographical walks taken by the authors and a discussion about the future of the walking interview as biographical method. Walking Methods combines theory with a series of original ethnographic and participatory research examples. Practical exercises and a guide to using walking as a method help to make this a rich resource for social science researchers, students, walking artists, and biographical researchers. Cover 1 Endorsement Page 2 Half Title 4 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 10 Introduction 12 Overview of the field: Why this book and why now? 13 Biographical Research: Walking – thinking, experiencing and imagining 15 The Walking Interview as a Biographical Method (WIBM) 16 References 21 Part I Theorising/observing/thinking 24 Chapter 1 Methods on the move: Moving methods 26 Introduction 26 Walking 26 Methods on the move: The Walking Interview as a Biographical Method (WIBM) 27 Senses, emotions, and communicating 33 Mobilities 37 Arts and walking 39 New mobile technologies and the future 42 Philosophy, literature, and walking 45 The psycho-spatial, time, and walking 47 Biographical research ‘on the move’: ‘Moving’ research 49 References 50 Chapter 2 Theorising walking in the sociological imagination: Walking in context 57 Introduction 57 Walking and the sociological imagination 57 Nineteenth century walking and ‘social exploring’ 58 Chicago School of sociology 63 Mass Observation 66 Baudelaire, Benjamin, and the flâneur 68 Social documentary photography 71 Situationism 74 Conclusion: Theorising walking in the sociological imagination 76 References 77 Chapter 3 Walking, art-making, and biographical research 82 Walking, the city, and urban space: Mobilities 82 Walking as an embodied, sensory, and phenomenological practice in social research 86 Walking as a relational, imaginative, biographical method, and an aesthetic practice 90 Theorising the WIBM: Walter Benjamin – Walker, collector, storyteller 92 WIBM: Walking with Donie: Theorising/observing/thinking 96 Note 100 References 100 Exercise One: Walking and theorising: Observing/thinking 105 Part II Experiencing 108 Chapter 4 Migration, memory, and place: Connecting with memory and place in urban landscapes 110 Doing biographical research 110 Biographical methods and migration 111 Doing and experiencing biographical research differently: Walking with Robert Miller across memory, time, and place 113 Walking in Belfast with Robert Miller 113 Home and garden 115 The Botanic Gardens 117 University life 118 Sectarian neighbourhoods and ‘TINKS’ 121 Personal borders and belonging 123 Notes 127 References 128 Chapter 5 Walking as re-formative and transgressive: Health, pilgrimage, trespass, marching 129 History of walking 129 Motivation 130 Re-formation – Health and pilgrimage 131 Health 132 Pilgrimage 134 Transgression – Trespass and marching 136 Trespass 137 Marching 140 Escape and identity formation 142 Re-formation, transgression, and escape and identity formation 146 Note 146 References 146 Chapter 6 Walking in the Downtown Eastside: Experiencing the WIBM as participatory, visual, and ethnographic 150 Context: Borders – Physical, material, and relational 151 Walking biographies of people and place 152 Participatory action research practice and process 153 Arts-based methods – Mapping, walking, sensing, and visualising 153 Step-by-step, community, resistance, and recognition 155 Walking with Amanda 155 Walking with Steve 159 Walking towards a sense of community and mattering 163 Notes 167 References 168 Exercise Two: Walking, sensing, experiencing 169 Note 170 Part III Imagination 172 Chapter 7 Walking, sex work, and community: Towards a radical democratic and imaginative space for addressing sexual and social inequalities 174 A sociological imagination 175 Walking with Nick Mai in Soho 176 Creativity, biography, and imagination 179 Walking with Faye and Open Clasp 180 Biography, memory, and meaning 183 Walking with Rosie Campbell and Shelly Stoops in Liverpool 185 Walking with Kerry Porth in Vancouver: Biography and cartography 187 Biographical imagination, walking, and memory 192 Notes 193 References 193 Chapter 8 The phenomenology of walking in a garden 195 Introduction 195 Garden and the city 198 Nature writing and walking 200 The garden path and bench 201 Garden, walking, and sentencing 202 Garden – Geometries and secrets 204 Garden, identity, and space 207 Garden, the body, and art 209 Garden, auto/biography, and time 211 The garden and the Walking Interview as a Biographical Method 214 Walking in a garden 216 References 217 Chapter 9 Walking artists: Critical dialogues and imaginaries 221 Walking as art practice 222 Walking as a practice, method, experience, and a political force in society 223 Walking as place-making and embodied learning 226 Storytelling and art-making 228 A walk with Clare Qualmann: Walking as imaginative, embodied, relational, and biographical 229 A walk with Dee Heddon in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow 235 Walking as political and relational 236 Walking as art practice and the WIBM 239 Notes 239 References 240 Chapter 10 Auto/biographical encounters in time and space: Roots and routes 242 Walking and autobiography 242 Walking in Consett – Maggie O’Neill 243 Shopping, conviviality, and the park 244 Protest and memorial walking 248 Walking in a nearby cemetery (2016–17) – Brian Roberts 250 Cemeteries, time, memory 251 A return to the village (2010) 252 Walking as a child in the village in the 1950s 253 A developing childhood in Scrooby 254 Auto/biography: Roots and routes 256 References 258 Exercise Three: Walking and imagining: Time/memory/making 260 Conclusion: The future of the Walking Interview as a Biographical Method 262 Dimensions of the Walking Interview as a Biographical Method 263 Biographical and ethnographic conceptions 265 Walking and biographical research 266 Time/Space/Place 267 Memory 267 Composition 269 Theorising, experiencing and imagining in biographical research 270 References 270 Exercise Four: WIBM exercise: Observing, experiencing, imagining 273 The Walking Interview as a Biographical Method 276 Principles and practice: A framework 276 Theoretical/epistemological underpinnings 276 Notes 280 Index 282 "This book introduces and critically explores walking as an innovative method for doing social research, showing how its sensate and kinaesthetic attributes facilitate connections with lived experiences, journeys and memories, communities and identities. The book situates walking methods historically, sociologically and in relation to biographical and arts-based research, as well as new work on mobilities, the digital, spatial and the sensory. The book is organised into three sections: theorising; experiencing; and imagining walking as a new method for doing biographical research. There is a key focus upon the walking interview as biographical method (WIBM) on the move to usefully explore migration, memory, urban landscapes, as part of participatory, visual and ethnographic research with marginalised communities, artists and as re-formative and transgressive. The book concludes with autobiographical walks taken by the authors and a discussion about the future of the walking interview as biographical method. Walking Methods combines theory with a series of original ethnographic and participatory research examples. Practical exercises and a guide to using walking as a method help to make this a rich resource for social science researchers, students, walking artists and biographical researchers"-- Provided by publisher "Social research methods are being transformed by digital technologies and developments in narrative, visual, biographic and performative work. This book introduces and explores walking as an innovative new method for doing social research, showing how its sensate and kinaesthetic attributes facilitate connections with lived experiences, journeys and memories, communities and identities. The book situates walking methods historically and in relation to new work on mobilities, the digital and the sensory. It combines theory with a series of fascinating case examples. Practical exercises help to make this a rich resource for research teaching and practice."--Provided by publisher