[en] This paper proposes a new way for sociology, through both methodology and theory, to understand the reality of social groups and their “minority practices.” It is based on an experiment that concerns a very specific category of agriculturalists called “pluriactive” stock farmers. These stock farmers, who engage in raising livestock part-time alongside another full-time job, form a minority category within the agricultural profession. We address the question of how to analyze and represent the practices of this kind of “social” group or category through participatory filmmaking. Our research shows that beyond the collaborative production and screening of the film done in close cooperation with the stock farmers themselves, a second unexpected dynamic emerged around the sequences that were cut in the final editing round. These cut sequences reveal hesitations and disagreements among the breeders about their own practices in relation to their work and to animal welfare. These hesitations are not considered weaknesses, but rather as proof of the emergence of this group of stock farmers as “practitioners”. In the realm of intervention research, the participatory film-making process is attractive because it enables the farmers to raise new questions on their own, discuss them, and eventually resolve them, while also encouraging the researchers to identify the conditions that must be met in order to achieve this fragile linkage. This process and its outcomes force us to revisit the theoretical question of what constitutes a pragmatic definition of a practice.
Disciplines :
Sociology & social sciences
Author, co-author :
Stassart, Pierre M ; Université de Liège - ULiège > DER Sc. et gest. de l'environnement (Arlon Campus Environ.) > DER Sc. et gest. de l'environnement (Arlon Campus Environ.)
Mathieu, Valérie
Melard, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > DER Sc. et gest. de l'environnement (Arlon Campus Environ.) > DER Sc. et gest. de l'environnement (Arlon Campus Environ.)
Language :
English
Title :
Reflexive audiovisual methodology: The emergence of "minority practices" among pluriactive stock farmers
Alternative titles :
[fr] Méthodologie audiovisuelle réflexive: l'émergence de pratiques minoritaires chez les éleveurs pluriactifs
Publication date :
2011
Journal title :
Journal of Rural Studies
ISSN :
0743-0167
eISSN :
1873-1392
Publisher :
Elsevier, United Kingdom
Special issue title :
Special section subjectiving the objective: participation, sustainability and agroecological research
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