%P 5-15
%O This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
%D 2021
%V 44
%N 2
%L discovery10199809
%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.
%K Critical ethnography, human settlement, spatial politics, power relations
%J Indian Journal of Landscape Systems & Ecological Studies (IJLS & ES)
%T Critical Ethnography: A Methodological Intervention for Understanding Human Settlement Issues
%A Raktim Ray