Observation and the Everyday: How the experience of lock-down has affected our perceptions on outside interactions and home life?
What does it mean to observe the everyday during a period of mass social distancing?
In what ways can observing the everyday become the basis to make knowledge claims about the world we live in?
What are the ethical or political challenges one may encounter when observing the Things to be thought about…When doing your observations, what do you observe during the everyday?
Are there any issues you encounter when observing? How does observing the everyday affect you — what emotions, sensations or feelings does it bring about?
How might ‘theoretical’ material help you make sense of your observations? What do your observations tell you about the world we live in?
Demonstrate awareness of the range of ways in which researchers might engage in practices of psycho-social observation.
Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of the everyday within Psycho-social Studies and related fields.
Demonstrate the development of a psycho-social sensibility that is attuned to the visual, the auditory, the olfactory, and the kin-esthetic dimensions of everyday life.
Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of reflexivity and the positionality / situatedness of the observer / participant. An ability to think about the relationship between subjectivity, space, and embodied experience.
Have an understanding of what is meant by ‘phenomenology’;
Have a general understanding of the methods, rationale, and assessment of the module;
Have an awareness of some of the key ethical and political issues associated with observing the everyday;
Have an awareness of the scholars we are studying and the traditions within which they work;
Have an understanding of how to conduct your weekly observations and detail them in a diary.
Jennifer Mason. Observing and Participating .
Have a consideration of why human life can be understood as ‘relational’;
Have an understanding of some of the violences associated with solitary confinement;
Have an understanding of the way incarceration links to issues of race and racialisation, particularly in a United States context;
Have an understanding of the issues related to observing the world when one is in isolation.