Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EoPPP (A Global Comparative Ethnography of Parliaments, Politicians and People: representation, relationships and ruptures)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-04-01 do 2022-09-30
This project – Ethnographies of Parliaments, Politicians and People (EoPPP) – is reshaping parliamentary studies towards multidisciplinarity, decolonising and innovative communication approaches:
- pioneering a new comparative approach to ethnographic research in the study of parliaments: we have developed an analytic framework for study, published as a book by Routledge, received training in visual ethnography from the University of Manchester, are undertaking fieldwork, have held fortnightly workshops online (often with invited guests), and visited each other’s sites. Due to Covid, the researchers had to adapt their plans. While Axelby began researching Sheffield local politics, mostly online, the fieldwork relying on travel was more limited (in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India and the US). However research began in mid 2021 from a distance in Fiji (by Kaur) and Brazil (by Brum). Tesfaye researched in the archives in Addis Ababa, rather than the local politics of Tigray, due to the war in Ethiopia. All researchers have reported on their findings regularly to the team at the fortnightly workshops and we planned a global workshop for summer 2023 in Brussels;
- decolonising international research on parliaments: we contracted two Ethiopians and three Brazilians to study their own politicians; commissioned Ethiopian colleagues to make a film about Sheffield; and reflected on how we impact on our own research differently;
- communicating international research on parliaments to influence academics and politicians: The PI was commissioned to write articles about ethnographic research on Parliaments and has focused attention for the first time not just on their approach but on the ethnographers themselves as a group of scholars (in the Journal of Organizational Ethnography and Political and Legal Anthropology Review). She wrote highly innovative articles about (a) political parties (Ephemera, 2021) and space within parliament (for a book to be published by University College London Press) while the CI published an pioneering article on public engagement. Various members of the team have given keynote talks and presentations to a wide range of audiences – both academics and politicians – and participated in networks, promoting anthropological, decolonising and inclusive approaches to the study of parliament but also to citizen engagement within parliament. We have had our proposal accepted for an exhibition in the Brunei Gallery to be held January to March 2024 with an accompanying online platform.
- pioneering a new comparative approach to ethnographic research in the study of parliaments: we have developed an analytic framework for study, published as a book by Routledge, received training in visual ethnography from the University of Manchester, are undertaking fieldwork, have held fortnightly workshops online (often with invited guests), and visited each other’s sites. Due to Covid, the researchers had to adapt their plans. While Axelby began researching Sheffield local politics, mostly online, the fieldwork relying on travel was more limited (in Brazil, Ethiopia, Fiji, India and the US). However research began in mid 2021 from a distance in Fiji (by Kaur) and Brazil (by Brum). Tesfaye researched in the archives in Addis Ababa, rather than the local politics of Tigray, due to the war in Ethiopia. All researchers have reported on their findings regularly to the team at the fortnightly workshops and we planned a global workshop for summer 2023 in Brussels;
- decolonising international research on parliaments: we contracted two Ethiopians and three Brazilians to study their own politicians; commissioned Ethiopian colleagues to make a film about Sheffield; and reflected on how we impact on our own research differently;
- communicating international research on parliaments to influence academics and politicians: The PI was commissioned to write articles about ethnographic research on Parliaments and has focused attention for the first time not just on their approach but on the ethnographers themselves as a group of scholars (in the Journal of Organizational Ethnography and Political and Legal Anthropology Review). She wrote highly innovative articles about (a) political parties (Ephemera, 2021) and space within parliament (for a book to be published by University College London Press) while the CI published an pioneering article on public engagement. Various members of the team have given keynote talks and presentations to a wide range of audiences – both academics and politicians – and participated in networks, promoting anthropological, decolonising and inclusive approaches to the study of parliament but also to citizen engagement within parliament. We have had our proposal accepted for an exhibition in the Brunei Gallery to be held January to March 2024 with an accompanying online platform.
During the first year (2019-20) of EoPPP, the team was set up by Emma Crewe (PI) and the SOAS research office. Partnership agreements were created with the two main partners: Mekelle University and the University of Leeds. Crewe reviewed the literature from around the world, analysed the contribution by anthropologists to parliamentary studies and wrote this up in a book. This was published by Routledge as Anthropology of Parliaments (2021) as an open access monograph. The Global Research Network on Parliaments and People created a new website as planned, highlighting EoPPP, and its plans and achievements, alongside the Network’s historical research programmes (see www.grnpp.org). A knowledge management system (Glasscubes) was established for the storage of data. SOAS finalised the agreement with the ERC, and the ethics framework, and appointed a new ethics advisor (Dr Gerhard Anders, University of Edinburgh).
In preparation for the second year (2020-2021), the team was appointed in Brazil, Ethiopia and the UK. The Project Co-ordinator conducted an annotated bibliography of political communication and a stop-go animation in which the team explained their approach to research. From Autumn 2020 the team met for fortnightly meetings to reflect on themes, develop research plans and learn from other academics and creative scholars-artists. They reflected with other ethnographers of Parliament and scholars using more quantitative approaches about methodologies, ethics and the challenge of accessing elites. Each researcher consulted with experts in their field and then presented to the team a ‘deep dive’ about parliaments in the context of the political world of their fieldsite and their plans about what to research. In summer 2021 they collectively attended an ethnographic film-making course online, held by the University of Manchester’s Grenada Centre, all making sample films in preparation for producing creative outputs for EoPPP.
As the fieldwork was held up by Covid, the researchers scaled up the engagement with other scholars and officials within parliament to promote ethnographic approaches to studying parliaments. Axelby, Kaur and Crewe, who had already created a new committee within the Royal Anthropology Institute (Committee on the Anthropology of Policy and Practice), established a new series of webinars to create a bridge between academic anthropologists, practitioner anthropologists outside the academy and policy-makers or leaders in a range of organisations. Of particular relevance to EoPPP, they arranged webinars about (a) how anthropologists might give evidence to parliaments, (b) with two anthropologists who had become politicians themselves, (c) about strengthening the Equality Act (two of them have already been placed online and the other will follow in time: https://www.therai.org.uk/events-calendar/podcasts/anthropology-communicates).
In preparation for the second year (2020-2021), the team was appointed in Brazil, Ethiopia and the UK. The Project Co-ordinator conducted an annotated bibliography of political communication and a stop-go animation in which the team explained their approach to research. From Autumn 2020 the team met for fortnightly meetings to reflect on themes, develop research plans and learn from other academics and creative scholars-artists. They reflected with other ethnographers of Parliament and scholars using more quantitative approaches about methodologies, ethics and the challenge of accessing elites. Each researcher consulted with experts in their field and then presented to the team a ‘deep dive’ about parliaments in the context of the political world of their fieldsite and their plans about what to research. In summer 2021 they collectively attended an ethnographic film-making course online, held by the University of Manchester’s Grenada Centre, all making sample films in preparation for producing creative outputs for EoPPP.
As the fieldwork was held up by Covid, the researchers scaled up the engagement with other scholars and officials within parliament to promote ethnographic approaches to studying parliaments. Axelby, Kaur and Crewe, who had already created a new committee within the Royal Anthropology Institute (Committee on the Anthropology of Policy and Practice), established a new series of webinars to create a bridge between academic anthropologists, practitioner anthropologists outside the academy and policy-makers or leaders in a range of organisations. Of particular relevance to EoPPP, they arranged webinars about (a) how anthropologists might give evidence to parliaments, (b) with two anthropologists who had become politicians themselves, (c) about strengthening the Equality Act (two of them have already been placed online and the other will follow in time: https://www.therai.org.uk/events-calendar/podcasts/anthropology-communicates).
Despite Covid and war, we expected fieldwork to be completed in all six locations but we will go further by supplementing data collection digitally online, among the Ethiopian diaspora, through fortnightly interviews with one anthropologist who has become an MP, and by pursuing thematic research (e.g. the PI is writing a book about ‘fake knowledge and how it travels’). The PI has been asked to be editor of an encyclopaedia of parliamentary studies, which she has agreed to do with one of the other researchers as co-editor.
The event for testing our findings has been scaled up. We have confirmed a conference for up to 20 parliamentary ethnographers to meet at UCLouvain in the summer 2023, to be hosted by Prof Sandrine Roginsky. At this event we will present our findings and finalise our preparations for publications.
We have finalised our plan for the exhibition and conference in early London 2024 and once again our plans are more ambitious for this event, and for the accompanying and more permanent online exhibition, which has been possible by downscaling some of the physical travel. Rather than have quarterly F2F meetings, we have very regular online meetings which has allow us to vire some of the budget to increased outputs, engagement and dissemination.
The potential for dissemination has increased since we wrote the proposal due to active participation in networks (such as International Parliament Engagement Network [founded by CI Cristina Leston-Bandeira], Study of Parliament Group and the Royal Anthropological Institute) but also due to the team’s contacts with the Brazilian and UK parliaments in particular. The PI has been advising colleagues within SOAS about establishing an All Party Parliamentary Group – Communities of Inquiry Across Generations – which will offer opportunities to report our findings to the Westminster Parliament.
The event for testing our findings has been scaled up. We have confirmed a conference for up to 20 parliamentary ethnographers to meet at UCLouvain in the summer 2023, to be hosted by Prof Sandrine Roginsky. At this event we will present our findings and finalise our preparations for publications.
We have finalised our plan for the exhibition and conference in early London 2024 and once again our plans are more ambitious for this event, and for the accompanying and more permanent online exhibition, which has been possible by downscaling some of the physical travel. Rather than have quarterly F2F meetings, we have very regular online meetings which has allow us to vire some of the budget to increased outputs, engagement and dissemination.
The potential for dissemination has increased since we wrote the proposal due to active participation in networks (such as International Parliament Engagement Network [founded by CI Cristina Leston-Bandeira], Study of Parliament Group and the Royal Anthropological Institute) but also due to the team’s contacts with the Brazilian and UK parliaments in particular. The PI has been advising colleagues within SOAS about establishing an All Party Parliamentary Group – Communities of Inquiry Across Generations – which will offer opportunities to report our findings to the Westminster Parliament.