Ethnography as a research tradition is deeply ingrained in the empirical outlook of the Social Sciences, but is it compatible with the contemporary research climate? In recent years there has been marked interest in this mode of research for higher education studies, as ethnography allows for an in-depth, context-sensitive research process. This seminar showcases innovative perspectives on conducting international ethnographic higher education research in the contemporary university. Researchers negotiate between the 'in depth' demands of ethnographic research and institutional demands resulting from the 'in between' positionality of researching from and within different international contexts. The presenters address some of the challenges such as differing perspectives on risk and ethics, tightened demands for research completion and value-for-money, contrasting institutional conditions in different higher education systems. In addition to exploring the challenges and their implications for research, presenters also illustrate and analyse different types of ethnographic inquiry, including autoethnography, discursive ethnography, and ethnographically informed research. This seminar will include perspectives on conducting ethnographic research in higher education contexts between the UK and a variety of international contexts.

Lisa Lucas (University of Bristol) will begin the seminar with an overview of ethnographic research in higher education, including discussions of issues that emerge during collaborative transnational research projects. Adam Walton (UCL Institute of Education) will then present on his doctoral research journey, where pragmatic concerns played a large part in determining his ethnographic engagement with his research site, namely a university in Turkey. Maria do Mar Pereira (University of Warwick) will discuss the ‘backstage’ experiences that have framed the production and dissemination of her discursive ethnography of feminist knowledge production in Portuguese academia. Finally, Jessica Gagnon (University of Portsmouth) will round off the day with a presentation on the international autoethnographic lens that has shaped her researcher identity between the UK and the US.