For an “Expanded” Visual/Sensory Ethnography: Co-Living With Death in New Delhi ¹

Abstract

The present chapter explores the topic of death in the context of contemporary New Delhi, India. Building upon what I chose to call an ‘expanded ethnography’, it explores the multiple ways in which sensory, visual and digital mediations and tools can help researchers address such an existentially delicate topic. Building on a mix of online visual ethnography (of computer screens and smartphones), of bodily/sensory practices, of sound recording and image-making, my research focussed on retirement homes and shelters amidst a bulging Indian metropolis. I engaged with subjects who, because of personal choices or family difficulties, have ended up finishing their lives in solitude amidst a city forced to co-live with the presence of death. Alternating between photographic portraits, filmic observations and moments of playful exchanges in front of a camera (with me as one of the objects portrayed) my method capitalizes upon the integration (and problematisation) of bodily (sensory and affective) as well as digital techniques. All together these different mediations have granted me access to different layers of connection to the topic of death in Delhi and also to my ageing guides/interlocutors.

Citation

Favero, P.S.H. (2023), "For an “Expanded” Visual/Sensory Ethnography: Co-Living With Death in New Delhi ¹ ", Pauwels, L. (Ed.) Visual and Multimodal Urban Sociology, Part B (Research in Urban Sociology, Vol. 18B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-170. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1047-00422023000018B006