Deciphering signs: an empirical apprenticeship

Aroles, J.; McLean, C.

doi:10.1177/1466138116664543

Deciphering signs: an empirical apprenticeship

Aroles, J.; McLean, C.

Authors

J. Aroles

C. McLean

Abstract

The aim of the article is to explore how an apprenticeship through signs can inform ethnographic inquiries. Upon engaging with signs, one can develop new empirical sensibilities that could allow for the appreciation of the flows, forces and intensities encountered during such research processes. In particular, it enables us to attend to those aspects of research that we may struggle to capture or illuminate. We suggest naming such endeavour nomadography in order to emphasize the move away from anthropocentric accounts and to reflect the iterative, polymorphic and experiential nature of this approach. We also draw on a brief extract from some fieldwork in Fiji that focused on the ‘discovery’ of a new plant species. In particular, we wish to explore how a nomadographic approach provides a way of rejuvenating our thinking conceptually, empirically and methodologically by rethinking these three interconnecting and overlapping aspects of the research process.

Citation

Aroles, J., & McLean, C. (2016). Deciphering signs: an empirical apprenticeship. Ethnography, 18(2), 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138116664543

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 26, 2016
Online Publication Date	Aug 22, 2016
Publication Date	Aug 22, 2016
Deposit Date	Aug 2, 2018
Publicly Available Date	Aug 3, 2018
Journal	Ethnography
Print ISSN	1466-1381
Electronic ISSN	1741-2714
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	18
Issue	2
Pages	175-192
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138116664543
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1319597

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Copyright Statement
Aroles, J. & McLean C. (2017). Deciphering signs: an empirical apprenticeship. Ethnography 18(2): 175-192. Copyright © The Author(s) 2016. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.