The Laboratory for Theory, Creation and Politics of Space (PerspectLab) IFDT and the A11 Initiative for Economic and Social Rights invite you to join a multidisciplinary workshop that will focus on ethnographic methodology and fieldwork. During this unique workshop, participants who are interested in research work will have the opportunity to learn about different methodologies from the fields of urban studies, ethnography, and architecture and gain field insights into the problems faced by collectors of secondary raw materials and residents of informal settlements in Belgrade.
Workshop Overview:
On the outskirts of Belgrade, at the Vinča landfill, lived a poor but resourceful community of waste pickers and sorters. However, after the privatization of the landfill, all residents of the informal settlement of Vinča were forcibly evicted. Privatization and technological modernization, as well as deficiencies within the social protection system, have left these people without work, and some of them, along with their families, without a roof over their heads. The subject of this workshop’s research is the consequences of those evictions and the current, everyday struggles of their actors.
Within this workshop, after a short theoretical-methodological training and presentation of the “Vinča” case study, workshop participants will have the opportunity to:
- Discuss various aspects of informal housing and waste picking as labour
- Document and analyze physical and social landscapes, using visual ethnographic and architectural techniques
- Experience brief ethnographic fieldwork and connect with local communities in informal settlements to gain first-hand insights into their experiences, problems and struggles.
For Participants:
This workshop is open to young researchers, students, activists, journalists, artists and anyone interested in research and application of visual and architectural ethnographic techniques, in the context of informal housing, poverty, segregation and urban transformation.
How to Apply:
Please use the following form to share your research interests and goals related to this workshop, a brief biography, and contact information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePbmaT_KlYf8fb9kTZ01s3WuBd3Rkfmxuu2ZBZYOvqZYZUZQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
Application Deadline: 22.09.2023
Important Information:
- The detailed agenda of the workshop will be published later.
- The number of workshop participants is limited, and the selection will be based on the relevance of research interests.
- The working language of the workshop is English.
During this three-day workshop, we will explore together the complexities and intersections of poverty, forced evictions, urban transformation and ecology. We look forward to your applications!
For any additional questions, you can contact the organizer of the workshop at: sara.nikolic@ifdt.bg.ac.rs