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11 - Collaboration

Working Together Across Time and Space

from Part III - Collecting and Analysing Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2023

By
Noella J. Gray ,
Catherine Corson ,
Lisa M. Campbell ,
Peter R. Wilshusen ,
Rebecca L. Gruby  and
Shannon Hagerman
Edited by
Hannah Hughes  and
Alice B. M. Vadrot
Hannah Hughes
Affiliation:
Aberystwyth University
Alice B. M. Vadrot
Affiliation:
Universität Wien, Austria
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Summary

As the configuration of global environmental governance has become more complex over the past fifty years, numerous scholars have underscored the importance of understanding the transnational networks of public, private, and nonprofit organizations that comprise it. Collaborative Event Ethnography (CEE) is a relational methodology that aims to capture the dynamics of these constantly shifting networks. CEE draws on multisited, team, and institutional ethnography to assemble teams of researchers to study major international conferences, which offer important political spaces where these networks can be observed. Drawing on more than ten years of experience with CEE, we argue that strong approaches to collaboration offer rich opportunities for analyses of global environmental governance. In CEE, researchers collaborate on all aspects of the research process, from research design to analysis to writing. The aim of this chapter is to introduce CEE, providing a history of its development, reviewing the benefits and challenges of CEE, reflecting on the theoretical insights generated through CEE in relation to understanding environmental agreement-making, and offering practical guidance for researchers interested in using the methodology. Going beyond CEE, the chapter also considers collaboration in the context of the broader scholarly landscape.

Keywords

assemblagebiodiversity conservationcollaborationcollaborative event ethnography (CEE)ethnographyglobal environmental governance
Type
Chapter
Information
Conducting Research on Global Environmental Agreement-Making , pp. 210 - 227
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Further Reading

1.Choy, T. K., Faier, L., Hathaway, M. J. et al. (2009a). Strong Collaboration as a Method for Multi-Sited Ethnography: On Mycorrhizal Relations. In Falzon, M.-A. (Ed.), Multi-Sited Ethnography: Theory, Praxis and Locality in Contemporary Research. New York: Routledge, pp. 197–214.Google Scholar
For those readers interested in strong collaboration, and how it differs from more common models of collaboration, this chapter elaborates on the relevant methodological and theoretical considerations.Google Scholar
2.Corson, C., Campbell, L. M., Wilshusen, P., and Gray, N. J. (2019). Assembling Global Conservation Governance. Geoforum 103, 56–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
In this paper, we elaborate on how the concept of “assemblage” can be used to understand GEG. We also consider the iterative development of theory and methodology in CEE in more detail.Google Scholar
3.Erickson, K., and Stull, D. (1998). Doing Team Ethnography: Warnings and Advice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
For those interested in conducting CEE, this book provides more extensive and detailed advice regarding how to conduct ethnography collaboratively.Google Scholar
4.Sword, H. (2017). Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
See, in particular, chapter 8 (pp. 123–134), which reflects on the collaborative writing process, including challenges, positive aspects, approaches, and resources for further reflection and learning. Chapter 9 (pp. 135–146) explores the benefits of writing retreats.Google Scholar

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