Works In Progress Seminar

What They Post: Social media as ethnography?

Dr Jolynna Sinanan

16th October 2014, 6pm

Master’s Lounge

Register at dev-tembusu-nus.pantheonsite.io

Social media has provided a huge entry point for ethnography into forms of communication, but it also has grounds to count as participant observation in itself, Can we use this material in way that is similar to move ‘traditional’, ‘offline’ ethnography?

This presentation will introduce a book I am currently working on with Danny Miller called ‘What They Post’, contrasting posting on social media in England and Trinidad. If we compare my work on current social media photographs in Trinidad with Miller’s previous ethnography of Trinidad, we find to a surprising degree this corresponds to the analysis with a dual logic he previously called ‘transcience’ the world of the street and reputation the ‘transcendence’ the values around the home and family.

The claim to ethnography is strengthened by the contrast between these sites.

While there are common genres such as celebrations and baby photos, Trinidadian postings are dominated by topics such a religion and moral homilies on the other hand and an emphasis on style and sexuality on the other, topics that are almost absent in English postings