Developed in response to the theoretically driven mainstream sociology, institutional ethnography starts from people's everyday experiences, and works from there to discover how the social is organized. Starting from experience is a central step in challenging taken-for-granted assumptions and relations of power, whilst responding critically to the neoliberal cost-benefit ideology that has come to permeate welfare institutions and the research sector. This book explicates the Nordic response to institutional ethnography, showing how it has been adapted and interpreted within the theoretical and methodological landscape of social scientific research in the region, as well as the institutional particularities of the Nordic welfare state. Addressing the main topics of concern in the Nordic context, together with the way in which research is undertaken, the authors show how institutional ethnography is combined with different theories and methodologies in order to address particular problematics, as well as examining its standing in relation to contemporary research policy and university reforms. With both theoretical and empirical chapters, this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, professional studies and anthropology with interests in research methods and the Nordic region.

About the Author

Rebecca W. B. Lund is an Academy of Finland postdoctoral researcher in Gender Studies at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Ann Christin E. Nilsen is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Agder, Norway.

Reviews

"This book offers a very fascinating collection of chapters that represent Nordic research in the Institutional Ethnography (IE) tradition. It provides a very impressive view of the network of scholars involved in such research, and also of the range and quality of their work." - Marjorie DeVault, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA

Book Information
ISBN 9781032086446
Author Rebecca W. B. Lund
Format Paperback
Page Count 244
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g