Field School Impressions
Environment and Care in Galati (Romania)
Under the supervision of Tatjana Thelen and Stefan Dorondel, seven MA students spend three weeks in Galați, a city on the banks of the lower Danube in Romania. Drawing on current anthropological debates on care and more-than-human ethnography, the course participants developed research projects in advance. In the field, they learn and apply ethnographic methods to gain a deeper understanding of the social realities encountered and of ethnographic practice in general.
- field stay: 07.-27.05.2024
Under the supervision of Tatjana Thelen and Stefan Dorondel, seven MA students spend three weeks in Galați, Romania
© Wilma Jovell Swensson
Stefan explains to the group the ecological consequences of monocultural tree plantations and invasive species on the river banks of the Danube.
© Wilma Jovell Swensson
Jawon and her colleague are chatting while cleaning a cage. Her field is the municipal dog shelter of Galati, which currently houses over 1,000 dogs. Established 30 years ago with the goal of creating and manifesting a "clean city," it captures and protects dogs to clean up the streets. Jawon‘s research aims to understand how care is provided and which relationships are formed within the shelter, and how the hierarchy within the shelter is intertwined with these relationships.
© Tatjana Thelen
With around 1000 dogs at the municipal shelter, naming each one is nearly impossible. However, Sharon, a 10 months old Romanian Shepherd, stands out as the most beloved dog in the shelter, thanks to her delightful dogs-nality and breed.
© Jawon Cho
Jawon and her colleagues took a picture during their break time. The municipal dog shelter operates from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. During breaks, colleagues usually gather together and hang out.
© Jawon Cho
Visiting the Zoo, the fieldsite of Martin, with one of his main interlocutors during work shifts. The project deals with more than human care in enclosures.
© Tatjana Thelen
My fieldwork focuses on the infrastructure of and around the Danube Promenade, Faleza, and what role it plays for the citizens of Galați. There are a lot of different ideas about how the nature around the Promenade should be kept. Some come to the space to escape the stress of the city, while others complain about how there’s nothing to do, and wish for more restaurants and less bushes. There’s one thing people seem to agree on though: the space has never been this clean before.
© Wilma Jovell Swensson
Yulia with one of her interlocutors, a long standing ecological activist against damage at the Danube" In the interview, she says: "European directives provided the tools to us to fight. Sometimes we won- sometimes we lost. Yeah. That`s how things are.”
© Stefan Dorondel
Joanna is serving the guests at the Social Center for the Elderly. Her project focuses on care in the context of the Catholic parish church in Galați.
© Joanna Haszcz
Anna Kokoba did fieldwork at an NGO that organizes school lessons for Ukrainian refugee children. The 15 children in this class study math, logic, and the arts, as well as the Romanian and Ukrainian languages. Her fieldwork focuses on how Ukrainian refugees are provided with care by various government and non-governments organizations.
© Anna Kokoba
This picture shows the art class activities of Ukrainian refugee children. Class activities include painting, singing and dancing.
© Anna Kokoba
Julia Petron’s fieldwork is in a special needs school with a focus on vocational courses in the culinary arts. During her time in the field, she focused on learning about care dynamics between students and teachers, as well as the multidimensional aspects of care experienced by teachers as caregivers to their students.
© Julia Petron
Julia and her guiding teacher in front of the school building.
© Julia Petron
Urban Elements
After some weeks of intensive readings and methodological preparations, 16 Master students set out to Madrid under the supervision of Janina Kehr and Mafe Olarte Sierra to practice ethnographic skills on the topic of Urban Elements between April 27 and June 17th 2024. Following one of five elements in the city (water, air, fire, earth and love), students were asked to find a graspable research topic, where questions of urban habitability and living together are at stake. While the pursuit of own research projects is the focus of the fieldcourse, we also enjoy meeting local scholars to get insights into the diverse landscape of anthropological and urban related research in Spain.
- field stay: 28.04.-18.05.2024
Weekly plenary meeting in the Cultural Centre "El Matadero" (Taylor Dubé, Olivio Tentori, Sofia Zuñiga, Yolanda Oyuela, Clemens Lafenthaler, Angelo Alario, Lena Mittendorfer, Marie Kindler, Chanakhan Khankratok, Ekaterina Straikova, Kseniia Naidenova, Jonathan Rickelt, Nora Pearce, Janina Kehr, Camilla Venara, Kennia Baduy, Belén Sanchez)
© Janina Kehr
Walking Tour on the rehabilitation of the Rio Manzanares with urbanist Malú Cayetano
© Janina Kehr
Mercado de Los Mostenses in Madrid, captured on a sunny afternoon, after the morning rush has calmed. This bustling market, central to my project 'Community at the Table,' is a hub for Peruvian businesses, offering a vibrant glimpse into the role of food within Latin American communities in Madrid.
© Jonathan Rickelt
Gazing from the Montaña Artificial in Parque del Retiro, Madrid, one can witness the beauty of the Casita del Pescador. In this specific area, I delve into the study of caregivers' interventions with the elderly, exploring the essence of care within this public space. It is a place where memory meets present-day attention, shedding light on the significance of caregiving in our broader society.
© Belén Sánchez Vilar
My colleague Clemens Lafenthaler and I are working with the neighbourhood initiative and urban community garden "Esta es una Plaza" in the Lavapiéz neighbourhood of Madrid. The initiative grew out of a two-week workshop on revitalising abandoned spaces and has resulted in a self-managed, sustainable urban garden with vegetable plots, composting stations, a children's area and an amphitheatre for assemblies (all self-made from used materials) that is open to everyone to enjoy nature and to socialise with other neighbours or visitors.
My research interest focuses on how neighbours debate, imagine and create alternative ways of organising social life in the neighbourhood by caring for and about nature and each other whilst organising and managing the community garden together.
© Marie Kindler
In the project I collaborate with my colleague Marie Kindler. Our common research fieldsite is a community garden/neighborhood association called "Esta es una plaza" located in the Lavapiés neighborhood of Madrid. In the context of this space, I am interested in how community members take care of both their social and ecological environments through various practices such as urban gardening, community gatherings and socially engaged projects. I want to find out how people united in an “urban commons” project develop a sense of reciprocity which is shaped by human interdependence and eco-dependence with nature. In what ways do the community members give and receive different forms of care? What do these care practices look like? How do members perceive their caring relations with others?
© Clemens Lafenthaler
The city of Madrid has long been and still is a prominent center for street art, a realm often associated with a male-dominated narrative. However, in recent years, there has been a notable integration of feminist and queer perspectives within Madrid's street art scene, challenging traditional stereotypes. In my research, I adopt a queer-feminist lens to examine the role of street art in shaping public space and fostering novel realms of expression, care, and community within Madrid's urban landscape. In collaboration with local street art artists and community members, the aim is to ascertain the impact of these newly crafted spaces on the well-being of neighborhoods, with a particular focus on the experiences of queer-feminist communities.
© Lena Mittendorfer
In April 2018, Calle del General Millán Astray, named for a Francoist General, was renamed to Calle de la Maestra Justa Freire, a teacher who in recent years has been dubbed a pioneer of popular education in Madrid. By August 2021 the street was reverted back to Calle del General Millán Astray. Today, you can find a mural dedicated to Justa Freire, signs all along the street calling for "El nombre digno para esta calle" ["The dignified name for this street"] and other forms of contestation. Likewise, the mural and signs in support of naming the street Justa Freire are also contested through vandalism. Using this street as a case study, the research will explore contested space, and how collective memory is both a tool and mirror, to ask: How do residents and activists embrace, negotiate, or reject the collective memory expressed through the naming of a street?
The image in this blog was created by me using 2 photos that I took at the fieldsite (the current street name & the mural for Justa Freire which can also be found on the street). This image is meant to express the contestation of memory.
© Taylor Dubé
Located at the Plaza de Cibeles -- arguably Madrid's most emblematic plaza -- Nora Carolina Pearce is conducting ethnographic fieldwork on place-making and how urban spaces of power are shaped and re-shaped by the people who inhabit it on a regular basis.
The plaza itself is designed for people to move through it and to not linger for long, perhaps only stopping to take a photo of the iconic Fountain of Cibeles and City Hall. The people who work at the plaza, like at the kiosks or public transportation stands, therefore play a key role in inhabiting and shaping the space, yet they are often overlooked by popular narratives told of the Plaza de Cibeles.
© Nora Pearce
Puente de Vallecas, Sector Portazgo. Performing an ethnography of okupas (evicted) in the zone.
On the picture, behind the metro stop at the entrance of the building, next to the foreign affairs attorney services sign, some people were moving out because of foreclosure by the bank, they lost the case after years. How do I know? I had an informal conversation with them just passing by. Apparently someone from an organization (PAH) helped this couple to find a new place so they said.
© Angelo Alario
I am studying the different perspectives of the “Enforma” project at the Retiro Park in Madrid as a social intervention of a public space, in particular how the elderly people make use of the park as a way of socializing, staying active and avoid solitude, as well as the conflicts arising from this governmental project.
© Sofie Jimena Zuñiga Llop
The exercise of walking through El Retiro Park together with its regular users while listening to the memories and imaginaries that places evoke in them as a way of understanding how people create a sense of belonging and community in public spaces... (picture 1/2)
(translated with DeepL)
[original text: El ejercicio de caminar a través del Parque de El Retiro junto con sus habituales usuarios al mismo tiempo que escuchamos las memorias y los imaginarios que los lugares evocan en ellos como forma de entender cómo las personas crean un sentido de pertenencia y comunidad en espacios públicos.]
© Kennia Asenet Baduy Valdez
... The photos I share here, are the elf that some remember from the stories they were told as children, thanks to him the park was full of flowers. While the tree represents how from a personal imaginary something tangible and present was achieved. (picture 2/2)
(translated with DeepL)
[original text: Las fotos que aquí comparto, son el duende que algunos recuerdan de las historias que les contaban de niños, gracias a él el parque estaba lleno de flores. Mientras que el árbol representa como a partir de un imaginario personal se logró algo tangible y presente.]
© Kennia Asenet Baduy Valdez
Kseniia Naidenova, Ekaterina Straikova and Chanakhan Khankratok conduct research on Sala Equis, an old cinema that turned into a bar/cinema while still maintaining its original architectural structure, giving people a different nightlife experience. The transformation of the place can contribute to nightlife economy in Madrid, claiming to be a space that people from different places can socialize.
© Chanakhan Khankratok
In collaboration with the Centro de Empoderamiento de las Trabajadoras del Hogar y los Cuidados (Center for the Empowerment of Domestic and Care Workers), this research critically looks at care work as the principal gateway to the Spanish labor market, particularly for Latin American women who have migrated (mujeres migradas). This research project aims to identify how the center helps the women navigate a sector of invisibility, vulnerability, and irregularity by empowering them through community building and the dissemination of pertinent information, fostering their agency and resilience within the labor market.
© Yolanda Jimena Oyuela Flores
My research focuses on ESLA EKO, a self-managed squatted social center located in the district of Carabanchel. This center was established during the 15M movement, that is why they operate with a horizontal hierarchy system. ESLA EKO provides an inclusive space for all members of the community. Here, individuals can engage in a variety of activities, supporting creativity and experiences. Through my research, I aim to explore how ESLA EKO and its diverse range of activities contribute to foster social cohesion among its participants.
Website: eslaeko.net/e-s-l-a-eko/
© Olivio Tentori Montalto
I am investigating the Bosque Metropolitano of Madrid, one of the best urban reforestation projects being developed throughout Europe. I will analyse how the urban social fabric is shaped by the Bosque Metropolitano considering aspects such as climate change mitigation, biodiversity, human health and social welfare.
© Camilla Venara
New Ways of Ethnographic Collecting and Exhibiting
After a prepatory seminar in the winter term 2022/23, the actual field school seminar takes place in summer term 2023 and deals with the conception, planning and implementation of an exhibition. Under the supervision of Sanda Üllen and Igor Eberhard 20 students are involved from brainstorming to financing, writing texts, selecting the objects to be exhibited, designing the exhibition to its opening and long-term archiving of the results.
The students decide to curate the exhibition under the title "Lost in Gender". The presentation of objects of the department's collection as well as recent photographs and everyday-objects serves as a critical examination of the gender binary. Topics include the colonialist imposition of bisexuality on non-European cultures as well as current queer realities.
- The exhibition could be visited from 15.09.-12.10.2023 in the meeting room of the department
- Website of the exhibition: https://exhibition-guide-to-gender.earth/
Brainstorming for the exhibition begins in summer term 2023
It must be carefully consifdered which objects will be on display in the exhibition.
Students setup the exhibition during the summer months.
The exhibition visitor gains insights into an expedition report written by aliens that begins to fill the gaps left by colonial explorations and social norming...
... Instead of generalizing, the explorers are not irritated by the initial confrontation with a strict distinction into two separate genders, but begin a meticulous work that results in the discovery of the greater diversity of gender models among Earth's inhabitants.
On September 15th, the exhibition is officially opened.
The opening speech is followed by a panel discussion on the current situation and reality of life for queer people.
Students offer regular guided tours through the exhibition in the following weeks.
Naturwahrnehmung um den Nationalpark Neusiedler See - Seewinkel
In two field stays (March and June), 5 MA studetns under the supervision of Franz Graf and Gertraud Seiser spend three weeks in and around the national park Neusiedler See – Seewinkel.
During the first stay, the focus is on getting to know the region, its institutions and intensive discussions with experts. Between the field visits, the students develope small projects cooperatively but independently of each other, focusing on the perception of nature by different groups of actors. For this purpose, the empirical surveys are carried out during the second field stay.
- field stay 1: 26.03.-02.04.2023
- field stay 2: 29.05.-12.06.2023
Tirza Stock, Magdalena Langheiter, Vadym Yeremiichuk, Gertraud Seiser, Marica Zvonarits und Nikola Blagojevic am Steg der Biologischen Station Illmitz nach einer Führung durch die Biologische Station (durch Gilbert Hafner) und einem Gespräch über mögliche Folgekooperationen mit Thomas Zechmeister.
© Franz Graf
Die Region Seewinkel kann nicht verstanden werden, ohne das Schilfrohr bzw. den Schilfgürtel in die Forschung miteinzubeziehen. Schilfrohr bildet ausgeprägte Monokulturen, die jedoch in ihrem Alter und Struktur vielfältig sind. Schilf hat viele Erscheinungsformen, was dazu führt, dass Menschen mit Schilfbeständen unterschiedlich umgehen.
Magdalena Langheiter hat sich im Zuge des zweiten Feldaufenhalts mit der heterogenen Wahrnehmung von Schilf durch verschiedene Akteur*innengruppen im Seewinkel auseinandergesetzt. Dabei wurde nicht nur die Perspektive des Nationalparks Neusiedler See, sondern auch die der Feuerwehr Illmitz und die zweier Schilfschneider miteinbezogen.
© Magdalena Langheiter
Im Zuge der Forschung wurde deutlich, dass Schilf nicht immer gleich aussieht und sich auch sein Nutzen verändert. Das Bild zeigt grünes und frisches Jungschilf. Nach einem Jahr Wachstum wird es dann einjähriges Schilf genannt. Dieses kann in einzelnen Gebieten rund um den Neusiedlersee von Schilfschneidern im Winter geerntet und im nächsten Schritt weiterverarbeitet werden.
© Magdalena Langheiter
Dieses Bild hingegen zeigt das sogenannte Knickschilf. Wird Schilf älter, dann verändert sich seine Farbe und seine Struktur. Schilf wird bräunlich und knickt um. Bei Knickschilf handelt es sich um einen wichtigen Lebensraum, der von vielen Vogelarten rund um den Neusiedlersee genutzt wird. Knicken die Schilfhalme zu sehr ineinander entstehen dichte Schilfmatten und es bildet sich das sogenannte Bruchschilf. Problematisch bei diesem Altschilfbestand ist, dass einerseits Jungschilf durch die dichten Schilfmatten nicht mehr hindurchwachsen kann und andererseits keine Vögel dort brüten. Erst durch das genaue Hinschauen wird wahrnehmbar, dass Schilf nicht gleich Schilf ist.
© Magdalena Langheiter
Ende März stehen wir (im Bildvordergrund Nikola Blagojevic und Franz Graf) im Schneesturm an der Brücke von Andau. Dieser nun offene Grenzübergang wurde nach 1956 zum Symbol für die Flucht aus autoritären Regimen und verweist auf den Seewinkel als einen Hotspot für Flucht und Migration.
Die Erkundungen, Eindrücke und Gespräche mit Expert*innen während des ersten Feldaufenthalts regten die Studierenden zu ihren individuellen Projekten an.
© Gertraud Seiser
Nicht nur als Urlaubs- und Erholungsregion ist das Burgenland innerhalb von Österreich bekannt. Mediale Aufmerksamkeit haben auch immer wieder dramatische Fluchtereignisse erregt. Als Grenzregion Richtung Osten hat der Seewinkel hierbei eine besondere Position inne. Tirza Stock interessiert sich im Rahmen des Feldpraktikums für die Perspektiven von Geflüchteten, die ihren Lebensmittelpunkt um den Neusiedlersee herum haben. Wie sehen ihre Alltagsrealitäten aus? Wie erfahren sie in ihrer Umgebung die Natur? Welche Relevanz hat diese in ihrem Leben? In den Interviews mit Geflüchteten zum Thema Natur sind neben der persönlichen Migrationsgeschichte
auch Vorstellungen von Heimat, Familie und Religion zum Vorschein gekommen.
© Vadym Yeremiichuk
Das ist ein Acker – genauer gesagt ist es ein Saatgutmaisacker -, welcher im Seewinkel bewässert wird. Der Seewinkel hat in den letzten Jahren neue Grundwassertiefpunkte erreicht. Gründe dafür sind zum einem der Klimawandel mit den immer länger werdenden Trockenperioden und zum anderen anthropogene Eingriffe in den Wasserhaushalt des „Feuchtgebietes“. Mittels zahlreicher Entwässerungs- und Bewässerungssysteme wird Grundwasser in der Region entnommen, was inzwischen nicht nur lokal hinterfragt wird. Dabei ist der Diskurs um die Infrastruktur Wasser emotional geladen. Marica Zvonarits beschäftigt sich mit zwei Betrieben in Illmitz, die ihre Kulturen bewässern. Sie interessiert sich dabei dafür, wie diese Landwirt*innen in dieser wasserknappen Region Wasser und den Umgang damit wahrnehmen.
© Marica Zvonarits
Während des Feldpraktikums im Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel untersuchte Vadym Yeremiichuk die komplexen Zusammenhänge zwischen Tourismus, Nachhaltigkeit und der lokalen Naturwahrnehmung. Durch Interviews mit wichtigen Stakeholdern, u.a. Tourismusmanagern, dem Bürgermeister von Illmitz und der Bürgermeisterin von Podersdorf sowie einem Vertreter des Nationalparks, versuchte er, ein Verständnis für die Aushandlungsprozesse zwischen touristischen Ansprüchen und den politisch-ökologischen Bedingungen des Umweltschutzes zu entwickeln. Seine Recherche ergab, dass es viele Herausforderungen gibt, von der Vereinbarkeit unterschiedlicher Perspektiven bis hin zur Umsetzung nachhaltiger Praktiken. Diese können nur im Kontext einer Sehnsucht nach einer tiefen Verbundenheit mit der Heimat und der Hoffnung auf eine harmonische Zukunft verstanden werden. Darüber hinaus beleuchtet seine Arbeit nicht nur die komplexen Dynamiken rund um den Nationalpark Neusiedler See-Seewinkel, sondern verdeutlicht auch das Potenzial eines anthropologischen Zugangs bei der Erforschung der Nuancen von Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen.
Die Fotos (© Vadym Yeremiichuk) zeigen wichtige touristische Punkte: 1 - Strandbad in Illmitz, 2 - Strandbad in Podersdorf am See, 3 - Der Leuchtturm von Podersdorf, 4 - Weiße Esel in Sandeck - Neudegg bei Illmitz, 5 und 6 - Aussichtsturm am Rande der Graurinderkoppel im Seevorgelände.
Während eines Feldpraktikums spielen gemeinsame Mahlzeiten eine besondere Rolle. Studierende und Lehrende sitzen am Tisch zusammen, teilen ihre Gedanken, Erfahrungen und Ideen und erweitern ihr Verständnis durch den Dialog. Eine grundlegende Dynamik anthropologischer Praxis.
© Franz Graf
In his digital ethnography project, Nikola Blagojevic explores the narratives and stories of Burgenland Bunch members regarding their connection to the nature and environment of Burgenland. The Burgenland Bunch is a history and genealogy group focused on developing genealogical data concerning Burgenland emigrants and assisting individuals of Burgenland descent in tracing their ancestral heritage. Notably, a significant number of Burgenland Bunch members are descendants of Burgenland emigrants who settled in the United States, and they maintain a link to the region’s environment through stories passed down by their ancestors and personal experiences.
© Nikola Blagojevic
Field School in Indonesia: Civil Society Organisations in Java
In summer term 2023, 8 MA-students under the supervision of Gabriele Weichart spend three weeks in Java, Indonesia.
Together with students from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, they will work in different areas to explore the structures and work of different NGOs.
- field stay: 01-26.05.2023
- Instagram account: @javanthropics
The Field School in Indonesia started with a visit to the Anthropology Department at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta because students from both universities will collaborate in their research. Each group of students will be based with one local NGO and focus on one particular topic that ranges from gender-based violence to the environmental issues, from eco-tourism to traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.
© Gabriele Weichart
Sophia Sternath has started working with Eco Enzyme which is an Indonesian NGO that, among other places, operates in Kulon Progo in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The aim is to use fermentation processes to produce cleaning products, medical products and personal hygiene products from organic waste, but also fertilizers and agents for air and water purification. Apart from that, a lot of emphasis is also placed on education by offering local children the opportunity to use the library on Sundays to read or to take part in workshops.
© Sophia Sternath
Trying to do fieldwork without prior team meetings is like trying to cook gourmet Nasi Goreng without a recipe - you might end up with a hot mess instead of hot data! ARuPA (Alliance of Volunteers to Save Nature) is an Indonesian NGO engaged in the preservation of natural resources and the environment. It was formed in 1998 in Yogyakarta by several students and young alumni of the Faculty of Forestry, Gajah Mada University. Their work is based on the vision of an economically-socially-politically empowered civil society: to realize fair, sustainable, democratic and sustainable management of natural resources and the environment; towards the achievement of community welfare. The mission is to empower forest communities by creating a sustainable system for community-based forest resource management, achieved by conducting studies, strengthening local institutions, and providing community assistance. Kajetan Moro will be working with ARuPA over the next few weeks.
© Kajetan Moro
Rifka Annisa is an organisation that is fighting against gender-based violence. They host women‘s shelters in Yogyakarta, educate communities around sexual harassment and domestic violence, council survivors and advocate for gender equity in Indonesia. They also have a social media channel that you should check out where they inform around gender issues, women’s rights and violence. Anna Lena has started her research with this organisation.
© Anna Lena Seidel
This is Bettie Kirsch with a traditional Javanese rice husker called "lesung", used throughout Java by Indonesian rice farmers. Today it serves as a bench in JAVLEC's office.
JAVLEC is a non-profit organization that promotes forest conservation and social forestry and is active in many parts of Indonesia. Their goal is to support civil society organizations (CSOs) to improve natural resource management in local communities.
One of these projects is in Kalibiru, a small forest village in the Special Region of Yogyakarta that has reclaimed its exploited forest. It is now a protected area. To create new jobs outside the timber business, the community began building a well-known ecotourism sight in the forest. Although local tourism was affected by the pandemic, Kalibiru is now striving to regain its former popularity.
© Bettie Kirsch
In Indonesia, waste management is a pressing issue, with challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited recycling practices, and the improper disposal of waste. This leads to environmental pollution, health risks, and the depletion of valuable resources. During my fieldwork, I learned firsthand how Monumen Antroposen is demanding a transformative shift from society. The project engaged with the local community, and it became evident that the monument serves as a catalyst for change. It challenges the prevailing attitudes towards waste management and calls for a collective transformation in how we perceive and handle waste. Monumen Antroposen draws attention. We need to think about waste as not only a problem of nature as a physical entity but also about the social environment of certain neighborhoods, Therefore. Monumen Antropsen adopts a collaborative approach on sustainable practices, and contributes to the creation of a more environmentally conscious society.
© Aysel Aycan Aktaş
Waterworlds Philippines - Austria
In January 2023, 6 students under the supervision of Bernhard Hadolt spend almost a month in the Philippines. The research focus is on social phenomena, practices and meanings of drinking and domestic water as manifested in the Philippines and Austria from a comparative perspective.
Lea Nobel offers us insight into her individual research project.
- field stay: 03.-31.01.2023
A photo of rainy Manila. The overall theme of the seminar was "Anthropology of Water": As it was very rainy during our stay, we found a lot of water – and rain is one of the most precious kinds of water of all. Each of us worked on an individual research project, applying anthropological research methods in practice. Interestingly, through our individual research, we all found a project connected to the many distinctions in water: drinking water, sea water, well water, or dirt water.
© Lea Nobel
Part of our group was doing research on Apo Island: Since there is electricity only between 6PM and 10PM it was the perfect place to study handwashing, as a washing machine does not make sense under these circumstances. Here we are standing close to a well, which is central to the village. It was an interesting place to start the research on the island, as a lot of locals got their water supplies from it or washed pieces of clothing close to the well.
© Lea Nobel
My personal research project was connected to the role of handwashing the laundry – here I am doing my own laundry. The practice of washing is very important in the Philippines. Hand washing is generally widespread, especially in private households (i.e. not necessarily in laundromats, where washing machines are used due to the heavy workload).
© Lea Nobel
One of the main findings was that hand washing is generally considered cleaner than the washing machine. Often the higher cleanliness was explained by the fact that hand washing means that specific dirty spots are washed, while the washing machine only "turns in circles". Here, one of my informants prepares the various ‘basins’ needed for the washing process later.
© Lea Nobel