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Research, Performance, and Doing Human Geography: Some Reflections on the Diary-Photograph, Diary-Interview Method

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  • Alan Latham

    (Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, England)

Abstract

The past decade has seen a remarkable turn towards the cultural in human geography. This shift has been marked by a strange gap between theory and empirical practice. Radical though the turn to the cultural has been in reconstituting the ways that human geography thinks of itself as a discipline, its impact on ways that geographers actually do empirical research has been in certain respects relatively limited. Indeed, while the cultural turn has become strongly associated with a valorisation of qualitative methodologies, the actual range of methods used has been relatively narrow. Drawing on the work of Nigel Thrift and a range of other human geographers who are exploring the metaphor of performance to understand this realm of practical action, I argue that not only can social action be viewed as performance, so too is it productive to reframe the research process itself as a kind of performance. This reframing allows for a more experimental and more flexible attitude towards both the production and interpretation of research evidence. It also makes it easier to think of new ways of engaging with how individuals and groups inhabit their worlds through practical action. Drawing on my own experimentation with written and photographic research diaries, I explore a number of ways through which the performative ethos can inform and invigorate the human geographic imagination. I conclude by arguing that human geography needs to be more imaginative, pluralistic, and pragmatic in its attitude towards both (a) methodology and (b) the kinds of final research accounts it produces.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Latham, 2003. "Research, Performance, and Doing Human Geography: Some Reflections on the Diary-Photograph, Diary-Interview Method," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(11), pages 1993-2017, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:35:y:2003:i:11:p:1993-2017
    DOI: 10.1068/a3587
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    Cited by:

    1. Paola Jiron & Juan Antonio Carrasco, 2019. "Understanding Daily Mobility Strategies through Ethnographic, Time Use, and Social Network Lenses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Ulrike Schultze & Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2010. "Research Commentary ---Virtual Worlds: A Performative Perspective on Globally Distributed, Immersive Work," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 810-821, December.
    3. Schwanen, Tim & Banister, David & Anable, Jillian, 2012. "Rethinking habits and their role in behaviour change: the case of low-carbon mobility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 522-532.
    4. Julie Gamble, 2017. "Experimental Infrastructure: Experiences in Bicycling in Quito, Ecuador," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 162-180, January.
    5. Gamble, Julie & Snizek, Bernhard & Nielsen, Thomas Sick, 2017. "From people to cycling indicators: Documenting and understanding the urban context of cyclists' experiences in Quito, Ecuador," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 167-177.
    6. Frazer, Ryan & Waitt, Gordon, 2016. "Pain, politics and volunteering in tourism studies," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 176-189.
    7. Li, Yiping & Zhang, Heqing & Zhang, Dian & Abrahams, Richard, 2019. "Mediating urban transition through rural tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 152-164.
    8. Andrews, Gavin J., 2019. "Spinning, hurting, still, afraid: Living life spaces with Type I Chiari Malformation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 13-21.
    9. Line, Tilly & Jain, Juliet & Lyons, Glenn, 2011. "The role of ICTs in everyday mobile lives," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1490-1499.

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