Everyday Futures and Ethnographic Methods
Jill Ebrey and Isabelle Garabuau-Moussaoui
This work explores the potential of ethnographic methods for understanding the future in everyday life. Based on a selective literature review, the paper discusses how ethnographic approaches enhance: The understanding of future-orientated practices and imaginaries; The analysis of possible futures of practices in everyday life; The integration of everyday analysis within an innovation process – forecasts, scenarios, etc. (design anthropology, for instance) or the proposition of alternative methods (narratives, etc.); The role of ethnographies in developing a shared idea of futures through collaborative work with research partners. Download full PDF