Empirics of Encounter: From a Partitioned Fieldwork Practice to a Collaborative Production of Knowledge

Abstract

In this article we discuss the potential of collaborative research practices and present our approach on studying organized spaces of encounter using the example of sports activities offered free of charge "for all" in public parks. Our aim is to explore the socio-spatial effects of these temporary activities and to understand how they are embedded in the public space. For this purpose, we empirically considered both the people who participated in the organized activity and those who did not. Using a team-based method, we approached the field from two different roles (and spatial positions) and took on these roles (and positions) ourselves simultaneously—as active participants and as distanced participant observers. This enabled us to observe and to experience social interactions through different lenses and bodies. In order to converge our bi-folded perspectives and to attain a form of jointly produced knowledge, we "encountered" each other empirically-analytically in a subsequent dialogue. There, we consolidated our observations, thus generating a broader contextual meaning. With this multi-perspective approach, we obtained a more comprehensive picture of the organized space of encounter and the surrounding setting in the public space.