Friday, September 14, 2012

For All Seasons

Fall is in the air, and it smells of new and exiting documentaries!

Of all seasons I like the fall the best. It has not only to do with the change in the air and the crispness of the morning sky. It has also to do with the beginning of a new cycle at the Ida Institute. Our new topic for the up-coming seminar series is drafted, the seminar series faculty of subject matter experts is nearly formed, and for me the endeavor of making a new fresh series of ethnographic films starts.

It is just as exciting every time

This time is a bit different though, since I do not have my usual Ida co-anthropologist assisting me with the interviews. That is a challenge, but an exciting one because this time I will use “local” ethnographic interviewers.

So where am I right now?

Well, I am part of the team creating the framework of the new topic. Every new topic – I can only reveal that it has to do with patient-centered care - is being put together by creating an understanding of the dilemmas and challenges it poses.

Ethnographic documentary films are essential

We have found out that the ethnographic documentary films are essential in understanding the topics we explore. The reflective nature of the Ida Institute's seminar series helps us pose important questions and identify needs that might not yet been expressed. To be able to pose these questions it is imperative that the films mirror real clinical situations with real audiologists and patients.

Observations of the real world turned into tangible tools

Firsthand understanding and real world experiences provide us with informed insights that are able to transform experiences into a tangible tool format. The new seminar series will help us through that innovative co-creative process. And if the process goes as planned, we will be able to exchange your experiences to a new tool.

But, before we get there, a lot of planning has to be done. This is for sure a collaborative endeavor and I am already very much indebted to extremely helpful colleagues in Tampa, Florida, and the United Kingdom.

Stay tuned for new films

As you might sense, I am looking very much forward to go on this year’s fieldwork with my camera. During the next months I will frequently give you insights to how my work is progressing. And of course I will bring you snippets’ of film footage as well.