My experiences with Indigenist methodologies

Traditionally, geographic research and engagement with Indigenous communities have largely been developed within a western research paradigm and have historically been linked to colonial practices such as extraction and/or domination. The consequences of these research practices and paradigms have been the further marginalisation of Indigenous people globally. However, geographers are increasingly being influenced by a range of Indigenous scholars from both within and beyond the discipline who highlight the colonial foundations of geographic knowledge and the ongoing production of colonial relations, and who are calling for a decolonisation of knowledge through the use of Indigenist methodologies. After exploring this shift, this paper moves to a discussion of my engagement with research in Indigenous communities using Indigenist methodologies, including the emotions and thought processes that emerged during my own research journey, which led me to southern Guyana and the Makushi and Wapishana peoples who reside in the northern savannah environments of the Amazon basin. I conclude by sharing how I am continuing that journey using Indigenist approaches in my work in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, and by encouraging future scholars to challenge traditional geographic research methods.     

Towards transnational feminist queer methodologies

This article introduces the possibilities of transnational feminist queer research as seeking to conceptualise the transnational as a methodology composed of a series of flows that can augment feminist and queer research. Transnational feminist queer methodologies can contest long-standing configurations of power between researcher and researched, subject and object, academics and activists across places, typically those which are embedded in the hierarchies of the Global North/Global South. Beginning with charting our roots in, and routes through, the diverse arenas of transnational, feminist, participatory and queer methodologies, the article uses a transcribed and edited conversation between members of the Liveable Lives research team in Kolkata and Brighton, to start an exploration of transnational feminist queer methodologies. Understanding the difficult, yet constructive moments of collaborative work and dialogue, we argue for engagements with the multiplicities of ‘many-many’ lives that recognise local specificities, and the complexities of lives within transnational research, avoiding creating a currency of comparison between places. We seek to work toward methodologies that take seriously the politics of place, namely by creating research that answers the same question in different places, using methods that are created in context and may not be ‘comparable’. Using a dialogue across the boundaries of activism/academia, as well as across geographical locations, the article contends that there are potentials, as well as challenges, in thinking ourselves through transnational research praxis. This seeks complexities and spatial nuances within as well as between places.     

Remixed methodologies in community-based film research

This paper explores how remixed methodologies can inform research in Indigenous communities using short films, combining archival and contemporary footage. Drawing on the lineages of Indigenous and feminist community-based research methodologies, we develop a three-part conception of remixed methodologies. We emphasize, first, the need to resituate the process of knowledge production within relationships between researchers and Indigenous community members. Second, we stress the importance of reconsidering the intended outputs of community-university collaboration to centre community goals. Third, we underscore how remixed methodologies can disrupt the narratives surrounding settler colonial archival resources, resituating historical footage with relation to contemporary Indigenous contexts. We apply this framework to our collaborative work with the Witsuwit'en Cultural and Language Authority and the Office of Aboriginal Education at British Columbia School District #54, combining archival and contemporary films to create Indigenous education resources. Specifically, we remixed footage of Witsuwit'en traditional activities from two 1927 National Museum of Canada films with contemporary interviews and footage of Witsuwit'en governance and land use activities. We highlight how making archival films relevant to contemporary Indigenous community goals required disrupting the conventions of scholarly authority, designing collaborative outputs to suit community aims, and resituating knowledge production within the context of Witsuwit'en resilience in the face of colonialism.     

Decolonising methodologies: Emergent learning in island research

This article documents an attempt to decolonise our approach to methodology to explicitly show respect for islands and their islanders. Our twin starting points are an awareness of a turn to the Anthropocene in studies related to islands and an appreciation of the imperative to think outside colonial frames. The Anthropocene has been conceived as both an enduring colonising force and a significant moment in decolonisation, and islands have been viewed as emblematic of the Anthropocene, so the relationship between them is complex. These dynamic conceptions raise dilemmas for those wanting to apply methodologies to island research and negotiate ethical relations across multiple geographies and knowledge systems. For those whose cultures have been subjected to colonial oppressions, there are emotional and material costs and varied risks in participating in attempts to decolonise island research. Settler researchers seeking to ally themselves with others to advance such agendas and aspirations may slow or damage decolonising practices if they act without appropriate permissions, respectful commitments to support and understand decolonisation, and preparedness to engage in deep learning about what decolonisation of knowledge means. With these challenges in mind, we detail an approach to decolonising one of our own island research projects in ways that are enriched by a Tuvaluan concept, Fale Pili, which means treating a neighbour’s problems as your own.     

Qualitative life course methodologies: critical reflections from development studies

This article reflects on two experiences of applying qualitative life course research in development studies. The first methodology centred on the elicited narratives of older people in Buenos Aires exploring their lifetime relations with their children and their current well-being. The second employed semi-structured interviews with young adults in Zambia to investigate their trajectories towards economic empowerment. In both methodologies, the roles of linked lives and of wider social, economic and political changes were central. The article contributes to critical reflection on methodological choices and trade-offs, by focusing on dilemmas that arise from a desire to address policy makers and more quantitatively-orientated researchers. It explores three themes: the challenges of making sense of disparate narratives of linked lives; the possibilities for engaging with individual subjectivities; and different strategies for situating individual experiences in dynamic social, economic and political contexts.     

Comparing methodologies and emerging data of long term studies on emotion,stress, and retardation

Scherer, Klaus R., Harald G. Wallbott, and Angela B. Summerfield, eds. Experiencing Emotion: A Cross‐Cultural Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. v + 302 pp. including tables, appendices, references and index. No price.

Cohen, Sheldon, Gary W. Evans, Daniel Stokols, and David S. Krantz, eds. Behavior, Health, and Environmental Stress. New York: Plenum Press, 1986. vii + 284 pp. including tables, charts, references, author index, and subject index. $27.50 cloth.

Langness, L. L., and Harold G. Levine, eds. Culture and Retardation. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1986. ix + 212 pp. including chapter notes, chapter references and index. $59.50 cloth.     

Knowledge, uncertainty and physical geography: towards the development of methodologies for questioning belief

Although it is widely acknowledged that our understanding of environmental systems cannot be reduced to single predictions and unique explanations, determinism remains a common strategy in physical geography. This paper argues for explicit assessments of uncertainty in environmental data and models as a necessary, although not a sufficient, condition for balancing uncertain scientific arguments against uncertain social, ethical, moral and legal arguments in managing environmental systems. In particular, this paper aims to: (1) demonstrate the importance of assessing uncertainty within a realist research framework; (2) consider the nature of scientific uncertainty as the basis for developing methodologies that question belief; and (3) explore some important aspects of a methodology for evaluating uncertainties in environmental research.     

Radiographic examination of Western bronze and stone sculptures: history of studies, methodologies and data interpretation

过去五十多年里,在对意大利的石雕和大型青铜雕塑进行保护时,各种跨学科的深度评估方法得到了建立。在此框架内,射线照相检测技术取得了进步。射线照相术作为一种无损的研究手段,可以从宏观层面对艺术作品进行考察,在文物评估中一直发挥着核心作用。在检测阶段,射线照相术既可以被用来重构古代艺术工艺和流程,也可以被用来评估文物的机械和结构信息。本文介绍了射线照相术的研究历史及其不同方法,比如中能X射线的使用、高能X射线的应用(线性加速器)、伽马放射性同位素源的使用(伽马射线照相术)。本文描述了射线照相术在石质和青铜雕塑上的重要应用案例,其中对马可·奥勒留骑马像的研究就是一个典型。本文还描述了“高能X射线”的首次应用,该技术被用来检测奥维多大教堂的圣母子、两组天使和一个青铜天篷雕塑。文章的结论部分定义了正确解释数据结果的必要标准,特别是在通过射线照相检测技术探究青铜雕塑检测信息和铸造工艺的相关性时,应该考虑到铸造缺陷和不连续性。     

Early medieval slave‐trading in the archaeological record: comparative methodologies

Efforts to identify archaeological indicators of slave‐trading have highlighted four main criteria: shackles, fortified settlements, currency, and burials. However, little effort has been made to examine these indicators together for the early medieval period. By comparing finds, studies, and methodologies from the two major slave‐trading regions of Britain and Ireland and Slavic east central Europe, it becomes clear that these so‐called ‘indicators’ for slave‐trading are inconclusive, and textually attested slave‐trading can remain archaeologically invisible. To better understand slave‐trading in the seventh to eleventh centuries, historians and archaeologists should instead focus on its context within general trade.     

Egyptian sculptures from Imperial Rome. Non-destructive characterization of granitoid statues through macroscopic methodologies and in situ XRF analysis

Aegyptiaca-like Domitian’s obelisk is now decorating Bernini’s fountain on Piazza Navona or the Egyptian lions flanking Michelangelo’s stairs towards the Capitol figure prominently amidst Rome’s cultural heritage. Motivations for the import, contextualization, and copying of these objects during the Imperial Roman period are as heavily debated as they are ill understood. Provenance determination plays an important role in these discussions in terms of a (supposed) dichotomy between Egyptian (real) versus egyptianising (copy) but has only been applied stylistically and never been tested analytically. A scientific characterization of the materials themselves is even lacking altogether, as is an investigation into the cultural and symbolic meaning of the materials used. This paper is a first attempt to address these important lacunae on the basis of an explorative study of a selected sample of Egyptian statues from Rome. The identification and provenance attribution of the materials used for these statues are often problematic due to their relatively fine-grained nature and dark color. Therefore, a full non-destructive analysis of Egyptian statues in dark-colored rocks is presented in this study, with the stones evaluated by macroscopic examination and handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. The implemented methodology has allowed a distinction between greywacke and several varieties of granitoid rocks. In order to evaluate the potential for source attribution, a comparison was made between the results of our analyses and geochemical data for several granitoid rocks from Egypt. This has suggested Aswan as most likely source. The results presented here indicate that handheld XRF analysis can be used for the assessment of compositional variability in and potentially for the provenance of granitoid rocks, provided that a fine-grained area of the material can be measured on multiple locations, and if these values can be assessed on (in)consistencies with other published reference materials.     

Going unscripted: A call to critically engage storytelling methods and methodologies in geography and the medical‐health sciences

Geography and the medical‐health sciences have long histories of engaging the humanities. The last decade has seen for both disciplines a significant growth in theoretical frameworks, pedagogic strategies, and research methods that draw upon visual and literary arts, critical self‐reflection, creative tools and expressions, and even direct engagement or partnership with artists, curators, authors, theatre‐practitioners, and other professionals in the arts. Both geographers and medical‐health professionals, then, are increasingly (re)making and understanding various worlds through the humanities. In this paper we explore the histories of humanities in both geography and the medical‐health sciences, especially medicine: we argue the two disciplines have much to learn from each other's engagement and work with the humanities. Focusing on the increasing use of narrative and storytelling in both disciplines, we argue that deployment of humanities‐based frameworks and impulses must not be taken up without careful and critical analytical reflection. Finally, we ground our theoretical explorations with empirical examples from recent community‐based work about the risks and benefits of storytelling and visual arts when looking at the health geographies of Indigenous and settler peoples in Northern British Columbia.

De manière impromptue : vers une démarche critique sur les méthodes de mise en récit et les méthodologies en géographie et en sciences médicales et de la santé

L'intérêt pour les sciences humaines par la géographie et les sciences médicales et de la santé s'inscrit dans une longue tradition. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les deux disciplines ont connu une importante croissance de cadres théoriques, de stratégies pédagogiques et de méthodes de recherche qui font appel aux arts visuels et à la littérature, à l'autoréflexion critique, à des outils et modes d'expression novateurs, voire même à une participation directe ou à des partenariats avec des artistes, conservateurs, auteurs, praticiens de l'art dramatique et d'autres professionnels du domaine des arts. Autant les géographes que les professionnels de la médecine et de la santé contribuent de plus en plus à (re)constituer et comprendre divers mondes à travers les sciences humaines. Cet article brosse un tableau historique des sciences humaines tant en géographie qu'en sciences médicales et de la santé, en particulier la médecine : nous soutenons que les deux disciplines ont beaucoup à apprendre l'une de l'autre sur l'intérêt que chacune porte aux sciences humaines. En mettant l'accent sur le recours grandissant par les deux disciplines à la narration et à la mise en récit, nous faisons valoir l'idée que le déploiement des cadres et des impulsions fondés sur les sciences humaines ne peut pas être envisagé sans mener au préalable une réflexion analytique minutieuse et critique. Enfin, nous fondons cette étude du champ théorique sur des exemples empiriques tirés de travaux réalisés à l'échelle communautaire sur les risques et les avantages de la mise en récit et des arts visuels quand on se penche sur les aspects géographiques de la santé des peuples autochtones et colonisateurs dans le nord de la Colombie‐Britannique.     

Exploring socioeconomic relationships from surface survey ceramics: New methodologies from Bronze-Age Benta Valley,Hungary

A Phase II survey team collected samples of ceramics from the Benta Valley in the western Carpathian Basin of Hungary to identify secondary (rural) sites, determine their extent and density, and investigate everyday economic and social routines. By comparing ceramic attributes such as function, decoration, and exterior finish, the authors argue that studies of ceramics from plow zone contexts can address nuanced questions of social and economic behavior played out on the landscape beyond what can be investigated in traditional excavations, which are principally focused on tell centers. The efficient, low-cost survey demonstrates the potential of plow zone archaeology in studies of socioeconomic relations within settlement systems. This micro-regional approach and the methods involved can be employed on other survey projects in Hungary and beyond, as rescue excavations across the region are becoming standard practice.     

Living through,living with and living on from breast cancer in the UK: creative cathartic methodologies,cancerous spaces and a politics of compassion

This paper contributes to a growing literature exploring the embodied emotions involved in death studies. It does so through a creative cathartic autobiographical account of living through and on from breast cancer. In presenting this ‘storifying experience’, this UK-based paper has three key aims: first, it attempts to counter the disjuncture between the fleshy and emotional cancer journey I have travelled through and the sometimes abstract, disembodied accounts of cancer circulating in some geographical texts; second, it reveals some geographical insights that are uncovered through the use of creative cathartic methodologies which unsettle commonly held discourses about dying and surviving; and third, it poses some troubling questions for geographers working in this field with respect to the methodologies, politics and emotions of such research. In the paper, I argue that employing a creative cathartic methodology gestures towards ‘an opening into learning’ that provokes emotional enquiries about what it means to be taught by the experience of (traumatised) others. In particular, I advocate for a politicised compassion that both cares for those who are living through, with or living on from life-threatening illnesses and also cares about the complex conditions that shape their experiences, both within and beyond the academy.     

The 4th-century B.C. shipwreck at Mazotos,Cyprus: New techniques and methodologies in the 3D mapping of shipwreck excavations

Abstract

Well preserved ancient shipwrecks are rare in the archaeological record, but when discovered, they can provide valuable information on a wide range of research issues if analyzed and documented properly. In this paper we discuss the significance, potential, and constraints of mapping methods applied during the underwater excavation of shipwreck sites with special emphasis on stratigraphy, documentation of finds, and reconstruction of site formation processes. As a case study, we present the digital photogrammetry and computer vision software programs used in the excavation of the 4th-century b.c. shipwreck at Mazotos, Cyprus. Our goal is to develop a targeted documentation and mapping method of ongoing shipwreck excavations so that others can address complex research questions concerning this unique discipline of archaeology.     

Animal dung from arid environments and archaeobotanical methodologies for its analysis: An example from animal burials of the Predynastic elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis,Egypt

Abstract

Paraffin flotation has been used extensively in archaeoentomology and paleoentomology in the last four decades but not tested systematically. Its efficiency is here assessed. Eighty-five per cent of the identifiable coleopteran remains were recovered regardless of any variables. Some explanations of the method's variable efficiency given in published literature were tested, namely the experience of the technician, the nature of the residue, and the taxon and body part. Difference in recovery rates between four categories of workers proved significant. Residue type influences the efficiency of the method but the type of sclerite was of little importance in the process. Overall, however, paraffin flotation was shown to be sufficiently efficient and its continued use is recommended.     

Climate and energy security policies and measures: synergies and conflicts

Concerns about climate and energy security are leading to increased government intervention in the energy sector, in particular as they relate to the choice of energy supply options. While many of these options will improve both energy and climate security, many measures will benefit one while harming the other. This raises an important question for governments and energy planners: how can conflicts between climate and energy security be resolved? This article outlines some of the barriers and problems that may arise as governments and companies try to address climate and energy security concerns simultaneously in various energy supply areas. It concludes by arguing against choosing one objective over the other, and by outlining steps that can be taken to help resolve conflicts between the two agendas.