Doing Person in Environment: Using Embodied Geographic Methods (EGMs) in Social Work Research

Workshop Objectives: The objectives of this workshop are to (1) introduce participants to EGMs as a method that operationalizes the person-in-environment paradigm of social work in research; (2) share examples of using EGMs in presenters research, including the challenges and possibilities of such methods; and (3) offer participants tools, resources, and brainstorming space for using EGMs in their future research.

 

Background: Social work research and practice ground themselves in a person-in-environment paradigm (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) wherein individual context matters as much as psychology. However, there are few social work research methods which explicitly operationalize person-inenvironment approaches or that center the body as a medium and site of knowledge (Cameron & McDermott, 2007; Gardner et al., 2023). By creating a false division between the brain and the lower body (inclusive of senses) researchers prioritize certain ways of knowing that fail to consider the ways systems of oppression shape bodily experiences which also informs peoples relationship to place (Simonsen & Koefoed, 2020). In this interactive workshop, we will introduce participants to Embodied Geographic Methods (EGMs) - interdisciplinary methodological approaches that use embodied (i.e., of or relating to the physical and psychological body) means of understanding relationships between people and the places they spend time (Littman et al., in press).

 

Workshop Content: After introducing this topic, participants will be invited to engage in an EGM exercise to understand their relationship to the physical convening space, with an aim of centering our participation and personal embodiment experiences before intellectualizing our research. Upon reconvening, participants will share their experiences and thoughts about the exercise and its research implications with the larger group. Then, presenters will share case examples of employing EGMs in their research, which range from qualitative geographic information systems (QGIS), photo elicitation methods, oral histories, go-along interviews, and geographic interviews. Presenters will share challenges, successes, and possibilities invoked through these methods.cilitate small group workshops of participant research ideas. Participants will discuss and receive feedback from the facilitators and other participants in using these methods to operationalize person-in-environment in their research. Participants will leave with access to a shared online folder with feedback, specific tools and grounding discussed in the workshop and small groups for integrating EGMs in their present and future research.