Published: 2025-12-03

Experimental ethnography and the experience of urban space. A case study of young Ukrainian migrants in Poznań

Olena Martynchuk
Journal of Urban Ethnology
Section: Miscellanea
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/JUE23.2025.011

Abstract

This article explores the potential of experimental ethnography in studying how young migrants from Ukraine resident in Poznań perceive and familiarise themselves with urban space. Drawing on sensory and reflexive anthropology frameworks, the text examines how alternative research methods, such as sensory walking or automatic writing, can capture the sensory dimension of urban experience. The author, sharing the same lived reality as her research partners, considers the perspective of a researcher who is not quite at home, combining autoethnography with a participatory approach. The article also critically reflects on the limitations and challenges of experimental ethnography, highlighting its potential and methodological pitfalls.

Keywords:

experimental ethnography, sensory anthropology, urban space, autoethnography, migration, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Download files

Citation rules

Martynchuk, O. (2025). Experimental ethnography and the experience of urban space. A case study of young Ukrainian migrants in Poznań. Journal of Urban Ethnology, 23(-), 189–210. https://doi.org/10.23858/JUE23.2025.011

Cited by / Share

Licence


This website uses cookies for proper operation, in order to use the portal fully you must accept cookies.