SENSORY ETHNOGRAPHY

Description

Focus on each of your external senses one by one. Spend a full minute (or half-minute, depending on time constraints) concentrating on that single sense, taking note of what you perceive/observe. We will start with the most intimate sense and work our way outwards. So:

  1. Taste
  2. Touch
  3. Smell
  4. Hearing
  5. Sight
  • What does each of these senses  tell you about the space you are in and how you are situated in it?
  • What stories does each sense tell you about the space? How do these different sensorial stories match up with one another?
  • Reinforce one another? Contradict one another? What stories arise from the combination of these senses?

Adaptation

Now, bring your whole sensorium to bear, all your senses working  in concert.

  • Which of your senses do you tend to privilege?
  • What is it about the space that may be calling you to privilege some sense over another?
  • What might this privileging tell you about the space and the intents of those who designed and/or currently occupy the space?

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