Established in 2006, the Ethnography and Qualitative Research Conference has become a recognised scientific meeting for social researchers interested in ethnographic inquiry in Italy and abroad.
Ethnography is increasingly practiced as a crucial research method across a range of social sciences, and beyond. In fact, more than a method, ethnography could be said to entail a whole philosophy of social research and a special sensitivity towards the intersubjective worlds in which people and other creatures live.
The upcoming 2023 Edition (9th Edition) consolidates the rich intellectual discussion spurred by previous editions. Researchers from across disciplines and fields including sociology, anthropology, political sciences, arts & humanities, education, social work, geography, cultural studies, science and technology studies, and gender studies, are welcome to present their research and discuss their cutting-edge findings in a lively, informal environment.
The aims of the Conference include:
- fostering scholarly exchange and facilitate research collaborations among senior and junior scholars based in different universities and research centres in Europe and abroad;
- supporting the dissemination of fresh, original, and timely research;
- encouraging PhD students at different stages of their research career to share and present preliminary findings and fieldwork experience;
- welcoming graduate and undergraduate students as audience to the conference and active participants in the discussion.
The Conference embraces and endorses a broad, ambitious view of ethnographic research. Contributions can be based on a variety of methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, video-based field studies, auto-ethnography, visual ethnography, discourse studies, and other forms of inquiry inspired and informed by an ethnographic sensibility.
Empirically grounded, theoretically informed, and methodologically sound proposals that contribute to the substantive knowledge of the social world and contemporary emerging phenomena are particularly valued.
The Conference format is based on 3-hour sessions, with 5 to 6 paper presentations per session, leaving as much room as possible for debate and discussion.
“This is not a conference, it’s a feast!”, once said a participant. Join us in celebrating a shared ethnographic passion!
THIS YEAR CULTURAL ICON
As the cultural icon for the conference edition 2023, we have picked Anna Maria Ortese (1914-1998). Not widely known internationally, Ortese was an original author of short stories, novels, poetry, journalistic reportage, and travelogues. Particularly in her non-fictional works, such as Il mare non bagna Napoli (1953) and Silenzio a Milano (1958), she explored the social condition in impoverished inner city areas, documenting a facet of rapidly-modernizing post-WWII Italian cities. A mix of realism and visionary elements contradistinguishes Ortese’s style, making her voice unique and passionate. In her life, Ortese always deliberately kept herself outside of the cultural establishment, lived for many years on the verge of poverty, and was only ‘rediscovered’ in the 1990s by the publisher Adelphi.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Chiara Bassetti, University of Trento (chiara.bassetti@unitn.it)
Elena Bougleux, University of Bergamo (elena.bougleux@unibg.it)
Andrea Mubi Brighenti, University of Trento (andrea.brighenti@unitn.it)
Sebastiano Citroni, University of Insubria, (sebastiano.citroni@uninsubria.it)
Nick Dines, European University Institute (nicholas.dines@eui.eu)
Giolo Fele, University of Trento (giolo.fele@unitn.it)
Elena Fontanari, University of Milano (elena.fontanari@unimi.it)
Paola Gandolfi, University of Bergamo (paola.gandolfi@unibg.it)
Pier Paolo Giglioli, University of Bologna (ppgiglioli@gmail.com)
Alberta Giorgi, University of Bergamo (alberta.giorgi@unibg.it)
Alessandra Gribaldo, University of Modena e Reggio Emilia (alessandra.gribaldo@unimore.it)
Marco Marzano, University of Bergamo (marco.marzano@unibg.it)
Cristina Mattiucci, University of Naploli “Federico II” (cristina.mattiucci@unina.it)
Gianmarco Navarini, University of Milano Bicocca (gianmarco.navarini@unimib.it)
Francesca Pasquali, University of Bergamo (francesca.pasquali@unibg.it)
Domenico Perrotta, University of Bergamo (domenico.perrotta@unibg.it)
Federico Rahola, University of Genova (federico.rahola@unige.it)
THE JOURNAL
Ethnography and Qualitative Research is an academic peer-reviewed Journal in the social sciences published by il Mulino. It hosts high-quality, original ethnographic and qualitative research, combining careful empirical observation with sound theoretical reflection. The journal covers traditional areas of ethnographic inquiry, such as urban ethnography, deviance, work and occupational communities, immigration and ethnic relations, but also promotes the ethnographic analysis of scientific practices and knowledge, information and surveillance systems, religion, politics, the media, sport and the arts. ERQ is not committed to any specific theoretical approach, and is open to papers influenced by different theoretical traditions, provided they are based on accurate field research. It is published in Italian, English, and French.