Elisenda Ardévol was invited to participate in the Goldsmith Media Ethnography Seminar . She talked on her experiences as a digital ethnographer, taking in methodological, ethical and epistemological issues raised by media ethnography today.
Elisenda Ardévol presented some thoughts about digital ethnography by reflecting on more than fifteen years of experience doing research in different contexts and situations related with cultural production in digital media. Through a reflective journey from her first incursions in online forums, to dating sites and youtubers, free culture movement, and currently about selfies narratives and digital creativity, this talk will focus on the scope of ethnography when studying “the digital”, the uncertainty of the field, the blurring object of study, the excess of the data, and the entanglements of ethical decisions. At the end, Elisenda’s hope was to provide some tips for the contemporary ethnographer alongside an open discussion about the nature and nurture of ethnographic knowledge.
Elisenda wants to thank Mirca Madianou, Veronica Barassi and Richard MacDonald for the kindly invitation, and the students and staff that came yesterday for their contributions to the conversation.