Why Digital Ethnography?
Ethnographers study people by observing their lives where and as they unfold. But questions of being there and present are made more interesting and complicated with digital media and rapidly changing times.
Photo: Students from Chicago’s Foundations of Music working in the classroom on music compositions. Provided by Jabari Evans
What is DEWG?
The Rutgers Digital Ethnography Working Group (DEWG) supports active digital ethnographers and researchers within the Rutgers SC&I community and beyond. It aims to support and promote member output and networking via the Rutgers SC&I website; internal resources, meetings, and writing groups; and public events.
Photo: Sidewalk chalk drawing in Harlem. Provided by Jeffrey Lane
Our Mandate
Our group develops the principles, practices, and ethics of digital ethnography to advance a deeper understanding of how people live today, including socially distanced strategies and innovative, multimodal methods of doing fieldwork.
Photo: Participant observation at the Bloomberg Data for Good Exchange 2018. Provided by Maria I. Espinoza
Building a Network
The project will connect to digital ethnography labs across the United States and internationally for networking, writing/accountability groups, grant applications, best practices and resource sharing. Key sites include the Stanford Ethnography Lab; the Chicago Ethnography Incubator; the Digital Ethnography Collective; the Ethnographic Cafe; and the University of Toronto Ethnography Lab.
Photo provided by Jabari Evans