Ethnographic fiction for writing and research in cultural geography

Bibliographic Data

ID5773963
AuthorsMatt Jacobson (Minneapolis Business College), Soren C Larsen (0009-0007-9474-3102, University of Missouri)
Year2014
Volume31
Issue2
Pages179-193
Publication date2014-05-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0887-3631 • E-ISSN: 1940-6320
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08873631.2014.906851
OpenAlexW2094503164
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited67

This article discusses the relevance of one form of ethnography, ethnographic fiction, for cultural geographers who are interested in the intersection of geographical ethnography and creative writing. Ethnographic fiction aims to evoke cultural experience and sense of place using literary techniques to craft conventional ethnographic materials-interviews, participant observation, fieldnotes, photographs-into a compelling story. The discussion presented here is intended for cultural geographers who wish to begin experimenting with this type of creative writing in their ethnographic work. To this end, we introduce a set of literary techniques, assessment criteria, and collaboration strategies from ethnographic fiction that we hope will expand the scope and potential of geographical ethnography. This is not a comprehensive "how to" guide for ethnographic fiction, nor is it a call for "better writing" in cultural geography, but rather an introduction to the genre and some of the techniques we found helpful in our own experience

Aesthetics · Art · Craft · Cultural geography · Ethnography · Fieldnotes · Human geography · Social science · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropology · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism