Sensoriality, Social Interaction, and “Doing sensing” in Physical–Cultural Ethnographies

Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson*, Gareth McNarry, Adam B. Evans

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As recently highlighted, despite a burgeoning field of sensory ethnography, the practices, production, and accountability of the senses in specific social interactional contexts remain sociologically under-explored. To contribute original insights to a literature on the sensuous body in physical–cultural contexts, here we adopt an ethnomethodologically sensitive perspective to focus on the accomplishment, social organization, and accountability of sensoriality in interaction. Exploring instances of the senses at work in social interaction, we utilize data from two ethnographic research projects to investigate the production of running-together and swimming-together by skilled, experienced practitioners. We focus on two interlinked sensory modalities: auditory attunement, and vision and intercorporeality, identified as key dimensions of sensory embodiment and “togethering” in these particular domains.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)599-621
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Contemporary Ethnography
Volume50
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 May 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • distance running
  • ethnography of sport and physical cultures
  • ethnomethodology
  • performance swimming
  • sociology of the senses

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