Florian Elliker

In this conceptual paper, I discuss in three stages how the study of local settings can contribute to an investigation of phenomena and processes on the so-called macro-level of anal-ysis. I first argue, from a (radical) situational perspective, that the externality of any interaction constraints is established through meaning contexts and that - secondly - micro-settings are centrally implicated in shaping how macro-level processes produce specific social outcomes. Thirdly, I introduce the different analytical purposes of a Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Ethnography (SKADE), whose theoretical framework makes it possible to conceive of discourses as both situational and external meaning contexts of local action.

In yearly installments since 2011, the Swiss Methods Festival offers, during the course of two days, workshops on a broad and diverse range of qualitative social research methods. Complemented by two keynotes that address contemporary issues within the field of qualitative research, the workshops introduce the participants to the state-of-the-art of the respective approaches and offer the opportunity to discuss ongoing research projects. The festival constitutes the largest event in Switzerland concerned with qualitative methods, addressing the still marginal situation of qualitative methods in the curricula of many Swiss universities. This report provides an account of the 5th Swiss Methods Festival, contextualizes the event historically, presents the different workshops, and offers a short discussion of the issues addressed in the keynotes.

One of the key transformations South African universities have undergone in the past two decades is the increase of racial and ethnic diversity of their student bodies and academic staff. In this study, we seek to contribute to a better understanding of these transformation processes by presenting students’ narratives of how they experience the interracial integration of student residences. We first address the potential groupist and essential underpinnings of ethno-racial identifications by situating our categories of analysis in a social-constructivist framework, underlining the situational and processual character of identifying and establishing “groupness,” while simultaneously considering the obdurate quality habitualized ways of identifying may generate. We then present an overview of our sensitizing themes as they are discussed in the literature on race and ethnicity with a focus on South Africa and student experiences. Thirdly, the article introduces the reader to the institutional context of the case study, namely, the campus of the University of the Free State and its student residences. Based on focus group discussions and thematic analyses, we present our findings in the form of the cultural themes that are central to the students’ narrations of their experiences. These themes include the salience of racial and ethnic identifications, tolerant distance, confusion, fairness, neutrality, ethnolinguistic recognition, regional public arenas, rural-urban divides, as well as socio-economic divides.

One of the key transformations South African universities have undergone in the past two decades is the increase of racial and ethnic diversity of their student bodies and academic staff. In this study, we seek to contribute to a better understanding of these transformation processes by presenting students’ narratives of how they experience the interracial integration of student residences. We first address the potential groupist and essential underpinnings of ethno-racial identifications by situating our categories of analysis in a social-constructivist framework, underlining the situational and processual character of identifying and establishing “groupness,” while simultaneously considering the obdurate quality habitualized ways of identifying may generate. We then present an overview of our sensitizing themes as they are discussed in the literature on race and ethnicity with a focus on South Africa and student experiences. Thirdly, the article introduces the reader to the institutional context of the case study, namely, the campus of the University of the Free State and its student residences. Based on focus group discussions and thematic analyses, we present our findings in the form of the cultural themes that are central to the students’ narrations of their experiences. These themes include the salience of racial and ethnic identifications, tolerant distance, confusion, fairness, neutrality, ethnolinguistic recognition, regional public arenas, rural-urban divides, as well as socio-economic divides.