The Need for More “Carnal”

Abstract

Loïc Wacquant’s provocative call for a flesh and blood sociology holds promise for ethnographers willing to engage their bodies while doing research. Specifically, it allows ethnographies to experience the same bodily and emotional sensations as their study participants, which then improves their understanding of how bodily crafts inform human life. However, a “carnal” approach may encounter three obstacles: first, mainstream researchers who are trained in traditional observational methods and writing; second, the time, effort, and thought needed to methodologically link the researcher’s body to the research; and third, the fear of ethnographers wanting to avoid being labeled as “narcissistic” and “unscientific.”