John
dg-publish: true full_name: John Boy affiliation: Assistant professor (with tenure) at Leiden University methods_in_last_funding_application: "This is from the most recent successful application: 'The main mode of inquiry will be ethnographic. Ethnography refers to the systematic study of cultural phenomena from the point of view of those who make and live the cultures being studied. It involves application of a variety of qualitative techniques—among them interviews and observation—usually over the course of longer-term research. Aside from drawing on the methodological toolkit of anthropology and sociology, we can build on foundational studies that scholars in these fields have done on hackers and other communities of technologists [references omitted].'" what_i_actually_did: "That description was productively vague and gave me space to improvise. I ended up not doing much (formal) interviewing. Instead I did more observant participation and 'participant comprehension' (as Harry Collins calls the process of trying to understand a group and what it does instead of observing it)."
- Name: John Boy
- Affiliation: Assistant professor (with tenure) at Leiden University
Procedural starting point
The way I described my methods or process in my last funding application was: This is from the most recent successful application: "The main #mode_of_inquiry will be ethnographic. #ethnography refers to the systematic study of #cultural phenomena from the point of view of those who make and live the cultures being studied. It involves application of a variety of #qualitative #techniques —among them #interviews and #observation —usually over the course of longer-term research. Aside from drawing on the #methodological #toolkit of anthropology and sociology, we can build on foundational studies that scholars in these fields have done on hackers and other communities of technologists [references omitted]."
What I actually did was / what I usually do is: That description was #productively_vague and gave me space to #improvise. I ended up not doing much (formal) interviewing. Instead I did more observant participation and " #participant_comprehension" (as Harry Collins calls the process of trying to understand a group and what it does instead of observing it).
My previous experience between 'academic' and 'artistic' work
I worked on a proposal with a group of artists (ARK) in response to an Ars Electronica call for art-science projects. The theme was broadly on #digital_infrastructures, #care, #urban_space, and #storytelling. Writing the proposal was very educational because the artists drove the process and I just tried my best to be helpful. I joined several video calls and also came into their studio for a jazz performance and some vino. The group also made an artsy portrait of me for the proposal. Ultimately the proposal was not successful and the collaboration petered out again.
A more successful example of combining academic and artistic work may be my #short_story I wrote in a #creative_writing workshop at NIAS, “The Report,” that was published in The Sociological Review Magazine.
Finally, for my current research, I organized a workshop (also at NIAS) with technologists, many of whom straddle the worlds of art and technical practice. This is especially true about technologists interested in permacomputing.
