Talking whilst walking: a geographical archaeology of knowledge

Anderson, Jonathan Mark

doi:10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00222.x

Cited by 418 publications

(363 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…Many of these interviews utilized 'go along' or 'mobile' ethnographic methods which involves walking or driving with informants through the spaces in which they live and work on a daily basis (see Anderson 2004;Kusenbach 2003). In addition, I conducted a three month internship with the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT), a civil society organization based in George Town, which has been one of the primary actors involved in lobbying against swiftlet farming in the city.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

"Bird cages and boiling pots for potential diseases": contested ecologies of urban 'Swiftlet farming' in George Town, Malaysia

Connolly¹

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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This article details the social construction of the 'swiftlet farming' industry in George Town, Malaysia. It argues that narratives of health and disease continually police which landscape practices are acceptable for the increasingly globalizing and image conscious city. 'Swiftlet farming' refers to the use of inner city shophouses and other commercial buildings for harvesting the edible nests of swiftlets (constructed from their saliva). Due to the high global demand and prices for birds' nests, the number of swiftlet farms have exploded in cities and towns across the country over the past decade, as entrepreneurs have been trying to cash in on the lucrative industry. The competing discourses and reactions to swiftlet farming in George Town, particularly in relation to its alleged potential for causing outbreaks of disease such as avian flu or dengue fever offer an apt entry point for studying this contested normative landscape. In doing so, I draw on recent writing on landscape and political ecology to analyze how swiftlet farm(er)s have been politicized by various stakeholders as (in)appropriate for the urban landscape. The article concludes by considering the significance of such an approach can help to make sense of the contradictions and uncertainties that abound in urban health controversies. Key words: political ecology, health, disease, landscape, birds' nest, Malaysia RésuméCet article détaille la construction sociale de l'industrie «de l'élevage de salanganes» 'à George Town, Malaisie. Elle fait valoir que les récits de la santé et de la maladie déterminent en permanence ce qui est acceptable pour le paysage urbain d'une plus globalisante et consciente de son image. «De l'élevage de salanganes» fait référence à l'utilisation de shophouses du centre-ville et d'autres bâtiments commerciaux pour la récolte des nids comestibles de salanganes (construit à partir de leur salive). En raison de la demande mondiale et des prix élevés pour les nids d'oiseaux, le nombre de fermes de salanganes ont explosé dans les villes et villages à travers le pays au cours de la dernière décennie, que les entrepreneurs ont tenté de tirer profit de l'industrie lucrative. Les discours et les réactions concurrentes de l'élevage de salanganes à George Town, en particulier par rapport à son présumé potentiel de causer des épidémies de maladies telles que la grippe aviaire ou la fièvre de la dengue, sont d'un intérêt pour cette étude d'un «paysage normatif contesté». Je l'utilise «l'écologie du paysage politique» pour analyser la façon dont les exploitations de salanganes et leurs propriétaires ont été politisé par différentes parties et prenantes (in)appropriée pour le paysage urbain. L'article conclut en considérant l'importance d'une telle approche peut aider à donner un sens aux contradictions et des incertitudes qui abondent dans les controverses de santé en milieu urbain. Mots clés: écologie politique, la santé, la maladie, le paysage, le nid d'oiseaux, Malaisie ResumenEste artículo detalla la construcción social de...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

"Bird cages and boiling pots for potential diseases": contested ecologies of urban 'Swiftlet farming' in George Town, Malaysia

Connolly¹

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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“…The research in Martham was conducted during September 2013 and included twenty-seven interviews; eight of which were conducted as walking interviews. The selection of a mobile or sedentary interview was determined by participant preference (influenced by factors such as personal mobility and weather conditions), though walking interviews provided the added benefits of providing visual references to participants' narratives and offering the researcher insights into the affective, emotional and embodied aspects of relationships with place (Anderson, 2004).…”

Section: Research Context and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Local history as productive nostalgia? Change, continuity and sense of place in rural England

Wheeler

2016

Social & Cultural Geography

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Local history groups are often negatively associated with a tendency to indulge in nostalgic practices that yearn for a romanticised past and propagate resistance to change. Their role in local politics and power networks (particularly in relation to planning and development processes) has also been critiqued as exacerbating issues of social inequality and exclusion. While not contesting the realities of such arguments, this paper adds nuance to such debates by using the notion of 'productive' or 'mobile' nostalgia to explore possibilities for more positive renderings of local history and heritage activities. Empirical evidence from qualitative research in a rural village in Norfolk, England, is drawn on to demonstrate the role of these practices in providing a sense of continuity amid a continuously changing locale through the reassertion of place identities and attachments. Although by no means apolitical, this process need not necessarily be one of preservationism and resistance to change, but can be a mechanism through which residents are able to accept, or even welcome, changes to the social and physical constitution of their village. The paper also critically considers the value of productive nostalgia as a concept through which to explore local history practices and wider heritage movements.

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“…By walking we do not mean just the act of moving through the city on foot but also include related processes of standing, casual interaction, and observation. We draw on a well-established intellectual lineage in emphasizing walking in contrast to other means of moving in urban contexts (Anderson 2004;Blomley 2010;Edensor 2010;Middleton 2011). Certainly, facilitating pedestrianism is one of the core tasks of the built environment; although driving and biking are important modes of mobility, even late modern "car-centric" cities are working to include improved infrastructure that enables walking as a core mode of everyday circulation in areas of core density (Middleton 2011).…”

Section: Walking As Urban Observation: a Methodological Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Walking has long contributed insights to qualitative urban research, helping us generate geographical questions informed by observation of the use of space over time that might not be easy to capture through other methods (Anderson 2004;Moles 2008;Edensor 2010). In particular, walking offers an opportunity for serendipitous discovery of unexpected contexts for social and spatial conjunction.…”

Section: Toward Explicit Comparative Walking Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Walking as Method: Toward Methodological Forthrightness and Comparability in Urban Geographical Research

Pierce

Lawhon

2015

The Professional Geographer

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Qualitative urban geographical research should explicitly acknowledge insights gained from walking (the iterative exploration and observation of cities on foot), which enhances local literacy and enables researchers to compare methods more explicitly. Some urban geographers might use walking as a method, but it is rarely reported in published scholarship. This article argues for the explicit inclusion of walking in methodological reporting for urban research. We suggest that reporting the walking that researchers do adds rigor to research findings and should be distinguished from research where this practice is absent, we report on international experiences using walking in combination with other methods, and we conclude with a proposal for comparable urban geographic walking practices.

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Talking whilst walking: a geographical archaeology of knowledge

Cited by 418 publications

References 20 publications

"Bird cages and boiling pots for potential diseases": contested ecologies of urban 'Swiftlet farming' in George Town, Malaysia

"Bird cages and boiling pots for potential diseases": contested ecologies of urban 'Swiftlet farming' in George Town, Malaysia

Local history as productive nostalgia? Change, continuity and sense of place in rural England

Walking as Method: Toward Methodological Forthrightness and Comparability in Urban Geographical Research

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