Homelessness, Mimesis, and the Flânerie

Abstract

As an intense repository for contemporary human existence, the contemporary city is textured by scenes of homelessness that manifest broader issues of inequality and poverty in society. This paper explores material from photo-elicitation projects with 36 street homeless people in Auckland who were asked to go out into the city and picture their everyday lives. In interpreting the results, we draw on theoretical work on mimesis, urban mobilities and social practice to conceptualise how homeless people attempt to convey aspects of street life. A core proposition is that in adopting the mobile analytic gaze of flânerie, participants produce photographs as memetic objects that enable them to show and articulate traces of the key places, features, rhythms, practices, and relationships of homelessness.

Corrigendum to: Whānau Māori explain how the Harti Hauora Tool assists with better access to health services

“…Quantitative research, with its focus on numerical frequency to argue generalisability, has not appreciated the ways that generalisation can occur within qualitative research (Hodgetts et al in press). Imbued with culturally cognisant iterative and reflexive research processes (Hodgetts et al 2018), we posit that this paper lays a strong foundation for arguing the current experience of hospital care for M aori wh anau. As such, the authors take an active position in supporting the importance and relevance of previously argued culturally appropriate care in health services.…”

“…It also involved being aware of our positionality as researchers and the way in which this influences narratives told during research interviews (Radley and Billig 1996). Analytically, we drew on the notion of 'researcher as bricoleur' (Denzin and Lincoln 2000), whereby knowledge creators draw together artefacts, narratives and cultural contexts in the construction of meaning and new understandings (Radley and Chamberlain 2001;Rogers 2012;Hodgetts et al 2018).…”

“You’re the One That Was on Uncle’s Wall!”: Identity, Whanaungatanga and Connection for Takatāpui (LGBTQ+ Māori)

“…The origins of bricolage research and researcher-asbricoleur can be traced to the works of Lévi-Strauss (1966), who drew upon the metaphor of 'intellectual bricolage' to signify creative practices of human meaning making and knowledge production. We creatively bring Māori ways of being and engaging in the world into conversation with concepts from the visual arts, including interpretation, abduction, mimesis and bricolage (Hodgetts et al 2018(Hodgetts et al , 2021. First, participating young people were provided with a camera-equipped computer tablet and prompted to take photographs that represented their experiences of whanaungatanga and wellbeing over a one-week period.…”

“…Photo-elicitation is widely praised for bringing perspectives of minoritised groups to the fore and facilitating social change (Harper 2002;Hodgetts et al 2011Hodgetts et al , 2018. Participating young people led interviews with the images they produced to direct researcher attention to specific issues, influence the analytic process and potentially extend research implications (cf.…”

“…As such, visual objects are polysemic or capable of carrying multiple meanings and can be read differently. We treat photo-elicitation as a creative dialogical practice, where photographs act as mimetic objects that facilitate a process of negotiation and meaning making between young people and ourselves as researchers (Hodgetts et al 2018). The mimetic nature of visual objects-that photographs are an act of imitation or reflection of participant lifeworlds-necessitates processes of participant engagement and analysis that goes beyond 'first impression' and extends beyond the frame (Vandenburg et al 2021).…”