More than a Pocket Pet: An ethnography of Human-Guinea pig connection
Craft 2025 / Craft of Social/Cultural Anthropology / Research Findings / Updates

More than a Pocket Pet: An ethnography of Human-Guinea pig connection

Rosemary Morales Pongo I started this research out of curiosity from my personal observation of the time, affection, and money pet owners invest in their mascots. My ethnographic work focused on analyzing the emotional bonding between humans and animals. My field notes were the product of participant observation in a pet store, the home of … Continue reading

An Ethnography of the University of Toronto Fanfiction Club
Craft 2025 / Craft of Social/Cultural Anthropology / Research Findings / Updates

An Ethnography of the University of Toronto Fanfiction Club

Mira El Achhab For my ethnography project, I chose the UofT Fanfiction Club as my research site and over the course of the semester attended weekly meetings that I participated in and took notes on, interviewed two executives from the club, and read a number of works relating to fan studies and fandom ethnographies. From … Continue reading

Craft 2025 / Craft of Social/Cultural Anthropology / Research Findings / Updates

An Ethnography of Performative Male Contests

Soren Morgan My ethnographic project, The Role of Irony in Socially Constructing the Self: A Study of “Performative Male” Contests took place over 3 months from September to November 2025. The “Performative Male” micro trend seemingly had macro implications as online engagement with this satirical phenomenon manifested beyond the screen to in-person GenZ communities at … Continue reading

Craft 2025 / Craft of Social/Cultural Anthropology / Research Findings

The Gender-Affirming Care Experience of Trans University Students

Akari Tomita Students at the University of Toronto are able to access gender-affirming care (GAC) at the Health and Wellness Center (HWC). I interviewed six trans students (portrayed below with pseudonyms) who are in the process of medically transitioning at the HWC. These students had often heard about and experienced medical gatekeeping around GAC – … Continue reading

Curating Blackness: Diasporic Engagement and Corporate Mediation in Museum Exhibitions of African Art
Craft 2025 / Craft of Social/Cultural Anthropology / Research Findings

Curating Blackness: Diasporic Engagement and Corporate Mediation in Museum Exhibitions of African Art

Lita Wanjiru Ngure My research site was the Arts of Global Africa & the Diaspora exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). I grew up in Kenya, and my entire family has been fortunate to call Nairobi home. This past summer, my aunt came to visit me in Toronto and, as one does when … Continue reading

An Ethnographic Sensibility in Consulting
Events / Updates

An Ethnographic Sensibility in Consulting

By Johana Pokorney Thursday, January 29th, 2026, 5:00 – 6:00pm Room 330 – Ethnography Lab Boardroom 19 Ursula Franklin Street This session examines how skills and sensibilities honed through ethnographic research can be translated into qualitative research consulting projects and settings–and sometimes where they fail. Given that today many other professionals draw on similar methods, … Continue reading

An Ethnographic Sensibility in Consulting
Updates

An Ethnographic Sensibility in Consulting

By Johana Pokorney Thursday, January 29th, 2026, 5:00 – 6:00pm Room 330 – Ethnography Lab Boardroom 19 Ursula Franklin Street This session examines how skills and sensibilities honed through ethnographic research can be translated into qualitative research consulting projects and settings–and sometimes where they fail. Given that today many other professionals draw on similar methods, … Continue reading

Where is Arsenali Hill? Wrong Side of the Tracks in a Garden City
Events / Updates

Where is Arsenali Hill? Wrong Side of the Tracks in a Garden City

Please join us at the Ethnography Lab on Friday, December 5th, 5-6 pm, for a presentation of a work in progress by Eugene Slonimerov. 19 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario. Room 330 or online. The ongoing research project takes the site of the former Russian military installation in Tbilisi, Georgia as a non-human subject, a … Continue reading

Where is Arsenali Hill? Wrong Side of the Tracks in a Garden City
Events / Updates

Where is Arsenali Hill? Wrong Side of the Tracks in a Garden City

Please join us at the Ethnography Lab on Friday, December 5th, 5-6 pm, for a presentation of a work in progress by Eugene Slonimerov. 19 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario. Room 330 or online. The ongoing research project takes the site of the former Russian military installation in Tbilisi, Georgia as a non-human subject, a … Continue reading