%0 Journal Article
%A Ray, Raktim
%D 2021
%F discovery:10199809
%J Indian Journal of Landscape Systems & Ecological Studies (IJLS & ES)
%K Critical ethnography, human settlement, spatial politics, power relations
%N 2
%P 5-15
%T Critical Ethnography: A Methodological Intervention for Understanding Human Settlement Issues
%U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199809/
%V 44
%X : Ethnography as a qualitative research method has long been explored to understand  the complexities of social and spatial relations regarding human settlement studies. This chapter  briefly discusses some ethnographic methods and problematise ethnography as a methodological  apparatus. It then expands its understanding by introducing the framework of critical  ethnography. By doing so, it not only decentres normative understanding of ethnography but  also opens up possibilities for a relational and generative understanding of human settlement  issues. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Kolkata, the chapter also shows how differential  power relations shape our understanding of the qualitative fieldwork. Finally, the chapter  argues for a decolonial understanding of research methods to grasp the complexities of human  settlement issues in the postcolonial world.
%Z This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.