Journeying with: Qualitative methodological engagements with pilgrimage

Abstract

Autoethnography is increasingly being appreciated as a tool to engage with embodied practices and spatial performances by combining the experiences of both participants and researchers. This paper examines its deployment in the study of a walking pilgrimage on the mountain Criagh Patrick in Ireland. The significant growth of pilgrimage in recent decades has prompted the development of concepts and approaches to examine the motivations and experiences involved. Autoethnography enables the researcher to become a co‐participant, getting closer to the processes and substances of the activity. Using vignettes from the performance of the Criagh Patrick pilgrimage, I illustrate how this approach is enacted in the field providing embedded qualitative insight to this socio‐cultural phenomenon. The practical and analytical aspects of this process are discussed, alongside the multifaceted nature of contemporary pilgrimages.

Three participatory geographers: reflections on positionality and working with participants in researching religions, spiritualities, and faith

“…Individuals and groups can participate for overlapping personal, spiritual, and recreational motivations (Lopez, González, Fernández, 2017). I adopted an auto-ethnography to examine a range of experiences, including my own (Scriven, 2019). This approach is found in pilgrimage studies with Michalowski and Dubisch (2001) articulating an 'observant participation' to account for their intimate involvement as researchers and pilgrims, which has been adopted by others to situate their participation (Maddrell & Della Dora, 2013;Maddrell and & Scriven, 2016).…”