Researching through experiencing aesthetic moments: ‘Sensory slowness’ as my methodological strength




Suvi Satama

Pullen Alison, Helin Jenny, Harding Nancy

2020

Writing Differently

Dialogues in Critical Management Studies

4

209

230

978-1-83867-338-3

978-1-83867-337-6

2046-6072

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/S2046-607220200000004013

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S2046-607220200000004013/full/html



How do we write from the sensory body in ways that can convey the lived experience of the researcher and the researched, which can allow other researchers to make sense of their lived experience as well? What alternative writings could transform disembodied academia through dialogue and relational reflection? The aim of this chapter is to reflect on the value of the researcher’s embodied reflexivity in academic writing. More specifically, this chapter explores the ways in which we can write differently about organisational phenomena by experiencing aesthetic moments in the field. To accomplish this, I share examples of the aesthetic moments that I, as a researcher, experienced while undertaking three ethnographic projects: a study on professional dance, a study on academic motherhood and a study on female-canine companionship. This chapter identifies three aspects that allow the researcher to experience aesthetic moments – namely, appreciating sensory cues, writing ‘in and from the flesh’ and allowing vulnerability to flourish. Paying attention to the social micro-dynamics that exist between researchers and research phenomena and addressing the analytically marginalised experiences of researchers, therefore, allows for developing academic writing practices in more reflexive and sensory-appreciative directions.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 14:58