Etnography of Silence(s)

The project will question the methodological and interpretative frameworks of the study of silence. These questions will be explored through ethnographic research on communities whose collective identity is based on collective silences (‘Istrian exodus’, minority ethnic communities, textile workers, Native Americans, politically oppressed groups). The project aims to understand these diverse silences and to explore methodologies for their research and interpretation. The first phase of the project focuses on methodology. The ethnography of silence aims to understand how to perceive, analyse and research silence in ethnology, how to understand the types of silence, the message it conveys and its role in individual and social contexts. The second phase focuses on representations of silence. It is based on the study of the effects of the articulation of silence in order to understand how or by which mechanisms silence can be articulated, and the effects or consequences that the articulation of silence has for individuals and groups. The ultimate aim is to build a basis for a comparative ethnography of silence. The novelty of the project is to offer ethnographic methodological tools for understanding and interpreting the heterogeneity of silence(s).The novelty of the project is to offer ethnographic methodological tools to grasp and understand the heterogeneity of silence(s). It also expects to make a significant social impact by giving voice to the silenced and observing the effects of such endeavors.