Prompting Ethnography: Experiments with LLMs in Fieldnotes, Analysis, Writing, and Reflexivity

About the Workshop

What could AI offer in ethnographic research and where does it flatten, overinterpret, invent, or produce false coherence and what new forms of reflection become necessary and possible? In this experimental and hands-on workshop participants will work through  exercises involving scribbles, diary writing, analytical interpretation, essay drafting, and reflection. We will examine how LLMs can act as interlocutors, critics, and writing partners, sometimes through deliberately assigned roles, while also asking how researchers can retain responsibility for what is generated, revised, accepted, or rejected. The workshop is especially relevant for doctoral researchers, ethnographers, qualitative researchers, and teachers interested in AI and methodology. Participants are invited to bring short excerpts from their own scribbles, fieldnotes, or research memos, although sample material can also be provided.

Team

The workshop will be led by Prof. Dr. Paula Bialski (University of St. Gallen & WI) and Prof. Dr. Götz Bachmann (University of Siegen), and is organized by the Weizenbaum PhD Network "Research in Practice", coordinated by Katharina Berr and Jana Heim, and supported by the Weizenbaum Methods Lab.

Participation

The event is hybrid. To ensure an interactive setting, participation is limited to 15 seats in person and 10 online. The workshop is open to QPD.

Please register via the registration form and indicate whether you would like to participate in person or online
 
Further details can be found on our program page