The Infrastructures Research Group (IRG) is a collection of projects that use ethnography to understand the formal and informal politics that affect global access to urban infrastructures like railroads, water pipes, and electricity.
In an ideal world, governments would provide all citizens with access to urban infrastructures in an equal and fair manner. Yet as the infrastructures of developed nations crumble, and the demand for them outpaces their construction in developing nations, many citizens are left trying to access water, public transportation, and sewage systems through informal means. This research cluster acknowledges that technology and the built environment are much more political and social than they may appear. While the projects differ in geographic focus such as Indonesia, China, and Canada, and explore diverse infrastructures like public transportation and high-speed internet networks, the projects all seek to make sense of the role such technological structures play in the lives of citizens from around the world.
What is playful ethnography?Join us for some interactive fun with games, schemes, and diversions about ethnographic fidelity, guilt, composition, and fieldwork friendship. These experiments derive from a collaborative ethnographic project on play conducted by ethnography lab members Noha Fikry Ismail, Kassandra Spooner-Lockyer, Jean Chia, and Nick Smith. The event will begin with brief introductory remarks … Continue reading
Please join faculty and graduate students from Osaka University and University of Toronto for an open workshop in which we explore how attention to infrastructure might guide us to see the complex dynamics among various human and nonhuman beings that constitute the world, opening up new questions about how to live in a world of … Continue reading
Kingsley_March 22nd_Poster Continue reading
A gallery of photos related to the Infrastructures Research Group. Continue reading
Ethnography is not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about urban infrastructures. Infrastructure is more often considered the domain of planners, civil engineers and policy-makers. However, the Sheri Lynn Gibbings’ SSHRC funded project Urban Infrastructures and Informal Sovereignties: Understanding 20th Century Politics uses ethnography as the central methodological approach to uncover … Continue reading
Dr. Joshua Barker, DirectorAssociate Professor of Anthropology, University of Toronto Jean Chia, MemberAnthropology PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Emily Hertzman, MemberAnthropology PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Jacob Nerenberg, MemberAnthropology PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Tammara Soma, MemberUrban Planning and Environmental Studies PhD Candidate, University of Toronto Jessika Tramblay, MemberAnthropology PhD Candidate, University of … Continue reading
The Infrastructures Research Group (IRG) is a collection of projects that use ethnography to understand the formal and informal politics that affect global access to urban infrastructures like railroads, water pipes, and electricity. In an ideal world, governments would provide all citizens with access to urban infrastructures in an equal and fair manner. Yet as … Continue reading
Ethnography Lab 