1st Edition
Ways of Walking Ethnography and Practice on Foot
Despite its importance to how humans inhabit their environments, walking has rarely received the attention of ethnographers. Ways of Walking combines discussions of embodiment, place and materiality to address this significant and largely ignored 'technique of the body'. This book presents studies of walking in a range of regional and cultural contexts, exploring the diversity of walking behaviours and the variety of meanings these can embody. As an original collection of ethnographic work that is both coherent in design and imaginative in scope, this primarily anthropological book includes contributions from geographers, sociologists and specialists in education and architecture, offering insights into human movement, landscape and social life. With its interdisciplinary nature and truly international appeal, Ways of Walking will be of interest to scholars across a range of social sciences, as well as to policy makers on both local and national levels.
Biography
Tim Ingold is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, UK and Jo Lee Vergunst is RCUK Academic Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, UK.
'This is a marvelously detailed book about many different forms of pedestrianism. I strongly recommend Ways of Walking for its really good analyses of just how walking has been and still is fundamental to human life.' John Urry, Lancaster University, UK 'The humble art of walking has been virtually ignored in the social sciences. This excellent book teaches us otherwise. Walking is shown to be absolutely fundamental to how we think, how we act and how we dwell.' Christopher Tilley, University College London, UK 'This fascinating collection, edited by Aberdeen-based anthropologists Tim Ingold and Jo Lee Vergunst, unveils the tacit nature of walking and will likely make most readers take a different stroll through their own ethnographic data. The volume convincingly demonstrates that walking is not merely another field of enquiry, but an integral, and often forgotten, aspect of social life per se.' Social Anthropology 'The eclectic accounts of walking collated in Ways of Walking illustrate how fundamental moving on foot is to human life. The content is engaging and varied. The reader is transported, chapter by chapter, to far-flung places in urban and rural settings in the developed and developing worlds. ...This is a fascinating book that will heighten the reader's awareness of walking practices - their own as well as others.' New Zealand Geographer 'Whilst each chapter in itself offers an intriguing ethnographic insight into the ways of walking, the collection as a whole opens up into a rich, engrossing, and highly enjoyable conversation.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 'The collection edited by Ingold and Vergunst sets a standard for work on what it is to walk and to know place and the relationship between the two. The work of the editors can be found at the heart of contemporary debates and research regarding mobility, knowledge and perception.' Sociology
