The Reluctant Ethnographer: Using multimodal ethnography to decolonise the figure of the child

Drawing on an 18-month multimodal ethnography in an inner London borough, Brenda reflects on researching alongside children who have experienced domestic abuse and social work intervention, and on how creative, participatory methods can help decolonise that work.

In this talk Brenda will discuss and reflect on her 18-month multimodal ethnography with children who had experienced domestic abuse and social work intervention in an inner London borough. 

Brenda will discuss why, despite her reluctancy, she decided to use a multimodal ethnographic method for her research. She will explore some of the ethical and methodological challenges of the research, including negotiating various tensions between her identities as a practitioner and researcher. Brenda will demonstrate how using a multimodal ethnographic methodology can decolonise research with children who are marginalised through racism, poverty, ableism and insecure immigration status, and challenge the colonial trope of the passive and damaged child.

Image:Brenda Herbert