Sketching local development: Graphic methods at the intersection of democratic and representational experimentalism

Abstract

In Figure 1a, students, local stakeholders, illustrators, and geographers are drawn using scribing to sketch a 'manifesto' for the local development of a peripheral area in north-eastern Italy during a seminar in 2017 (Bertoncin et al., 2021). In Figure 1b,c, this same manifesto is the chosen cover image of the official document presenting the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI), an example of democratic experimentalism and placed-based participatory planning. The decision of the coordinators of the participatory process activated by the SNAI to use the manifesto during their meeting demonstrates the exchange between the

From fieldwork to frames: Insights from an auto‐ethnographic comic on the French‐Italian border of Ventimiglia

“…Autobiographical comics are particularly valuable in this regard. As shown by other geographers (Bertoncin et al., 2023; Fall, 2014), autobiographical comics immerse readers in the research process at each reading, effectively portraying emotions and relationships among actors, crucial data sources during fieldwork (Caretta & Cheptum, 2017), while emphasising the embodied situatedness of research production.…”

“…This paper aims to explore this peculiar diary by examining the reasons for selecting it, the method of its creation, and its narrative structure. Initially, this geographic novel (Bertoncin et al., 2023) was created to compensate for the lack of published photos within my project. However, over time, it has acquired another value, primarily due to my growing awareness of the broader debate on comics and geography (Fall, 2014, 2020; Peterle, 2021; Serrano, 2021a, 2021b) and the fortuitous and inspiring reading of the special issue on life course theory hosted in Area (Wimark et al., 2017).…”

Critical observational drawing in geography: Towards a methodology for ‘vulnerable’ research

“…Drawing is most commonly used in human geography today not for first-hand observation but as a creative participatory element designed to enrich or expand more conventional methods such as semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In this format, drawing has been helpful for geographers working with subjects perceived as vulnerable, for example, with children (Beneker et al, 2010; Hague, 2001; Literat, 2013), young people (Swords and Jefferies, 2015), and marginalised communities (Bertoncin et al, 2022; Eggleton et al, 2017; Hussain, 2021). Here drawings, sometimes in the shape of informal maps, form the raw data and/or the vehicle through which researchers and participants come together to explore a particular – often sensitive – theme or topic of interest.…”