Nick Shepherd

Christian Ernsten

"This volume explores walking as a form of research practice. The contributions by a wide range of scholars and practitioners cover a variety of urban and non-urban landscapes around the world. They describe and reflect on ways of working that involve walking, and the kinds of ideas that inspire walking practices. A key theme is embodied research and how the act of walking brings the body into presence as a material part of the research process. The book also examines the ways in which walking opens out to multi-sensorial understandings and appreciations of landscape, and touches on ideas of presence and witnessing. Landscapes are themselves considered to be in motion, subject to the changing regimes of the era that we inhabit and the effects of Anthropogenic climate change. Finally, walking is thought about as political intervention and the volume addresses questions of social justice, decolonial futures and alternative forms of knowledge. It will serve as a source of inspiration to readers from across the humanities and social sciences who are interested in walking methodologies and in new and sustainable research practices"--

Drift, Pause, Indirection

Walking as Embodied Research

In recent years, walking has emerged as a methodological tool and as a conceptually exciting point of departure across a range of disciplines and practices. This volume explores walking as a form of embodied research practice that offers fresh perspectives on key contemporary debates and areas of interest. These include the climate emergency and the debate around the Anthropocene, decolonial thinking and the struggle for social justice, feminist and queer walking methodologies, and the notion of the ‘infraordinary’ and practices of everyday life. Contributions to this volume are by scholars, artists and practitioners drawn from a wide range of disciplines and fields, and from across the Global South and North. An overarching theme of the volume is the manner in which the act of walking brings the body into presence as a material part of the research process, and the forms of attentiveness that this encourages. Another theme is the intimate connection between the act of walking and the act of writing. As familiar landscapes change under the weight of Anthropogenic environmental change, walking becomes an act of witnessing and a spur to action. Rather than being a singular activity, walking itself is understood as a socially, economically and politically constructed and contested act. This volume will serve as a source of inspiration to readers from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences who are interested in walking methodologies and in new and sustainable research practices.

Christian Ernsten

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