By
Zara Khan
BSc Anthropology
On February 27th, The Creative Collective hosted a creative ethnographic writing workshop, exploring two key questions: How can we write ethnography in creative ways? How can we write creatively in ethnographic ways?
In an interactive and engaging group session led by PhD student David Edgar, we explored the creativity of writing through a series of dynamic exercises. Moving beyond a traditional approach to academic writing, this workshop incorporated multimodal materials to spark new ideas and inspire our writing. Through four stimulating activities, we examined how shifting our perspectives and collaborating with others can deepen our understanding and practice of ethnographic writing.
In the first activity titled “Microfiction”, each group was handed three flashcards —one depicting a person, one an action, and one a place. From these prompts we completed a short, speed vignette engaging with the idea of “Sudden Anthropology.” Some interesting prompts included kinship, power, ghosts, running, and gender, sparking a wide range of creative, obscure, and funny narratives.
After sharing our written pieces with the group, we discussed the diverse interpretations that emerged from the same prompts, noting both the similarities and differences in each approach. In the following activity, we turned our attention to sensory writing, enriching our stories by exploring how things and characters might feel, smell, and sound. This exercise encouraged us to incorporate vivid sensory details, bringing our narratives to life.
The third exercise challenged us to experiment with point of view in our writing —except with a twist. We were asked to recall a recent event we had attended and reimagine the experience from the perspective of an object present at the scene, or even as a ghost! This creative approach encouraged us to step outside our usual viewpoints and explore new narrative possibilities.
The final activity was a partner exercise that explored perspective and narrative voice. Working in pairs, we took turns sharing a personal memory while the other person took notes. We then wrote our partner’s memory as a first-person narrative, retelling their story as if it were our own. This exercise offered fascinating insights into how different perspectives shape a narrative and deepened our understanding of the diverse ways we experience and interpret events.
We hope everyone gained new insights into their writing through these thought-provoking exercises and collaborative experiences. We look forward to hosting future events —please stay connected and updated with us here at The Creative Collective!
