Papers by Arantza Begueria
The observer observed: Ethnographic discomforts and (a)symmetrical relationships in a digital ethnography
Ethnography, 2024
This paper engages in a reflection about the use of social media to carry out fieldwork online fo... more This paper engages in a reflection about the use of social media to carry out fieldwork online for contemporary ethnography. The reflection is based on the ethnographer’s experiences of discomforts and affects in digital fieldwork, in which she used her own social media accounts to interact with the interlocutors recruited for the project as a means to create reciprocity with them. This article uses these discomforts as generators of ethical, epistemological and political reflections by discussing the positionality of the ethnographer in a digital fieldwork. Firstly, it delves into the potential of these discomforts as a reflective tool for knowledge generation. It also reflects on the power dynamics consequence of the position that the anthropologist occupies in the field. Finally, the article initiates a political reflection on academic life when extensive exposure to fieldwork breaks down the boundaries between work and personal life.
The social connectedness of digital practices in later life: It’s not just about learning, it’s all about relationships
The Sociological Review
In the last 10 years there has been an increase in access to information and communication techno... more In the last 10 years there has been an increase in access to information and communication technologies among older people, stimulated by widespread adoption of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). At the same time, digital inclusion policies and training programmes continue to develop to increase the access to the digital society for this social group. In this context, it is pertinent to revisit a long-standing research question about how older adults use and learn to use these technologies in their everyday lives while paying attention to how their subjectivities and their knowledge are situated in the collective shared knowledge of digital practices. Using examples taken from a digital team ethnographic study exploring social media use in later life, this article delves into how learning digital practices and affective relations assemble and what they do to older people’s subjectivities. Their engagements show how these practices are illustrative of the relevance of social c...
Elderly, social media and social isolation
Un equilibrio imperfecto : alimentación ecológica, cuerpo y toxicidad
Un equilibrio imperfecto, 2016
La comida ecológica representa uno de los sectores de la industria alimentaria con mayor crecimie... more La comida ecológica representa uno de los sectores de la industria alimentaria con mayor crecimiento en nuestro país. ¿Qué lleva a alguien a decidirse por este tipo de comida?, ¿qué buscan en ella los consumidores?, ¿cuáles son sus preocupaciones respecto a la alimentación y a su cuerpo? Este libro nos ofrece un recorrido por el consumo de este tipo de alimentos en la ciudad de Barcelona a partir de las experiencias, las prácticas y las narrativas de los propios consumidores. Esta obra presenta un trabajo antropológico que viaja por las medicinas alternativas, las espiritualidades orientales, los discursos sobre soberanía alimentaria y las narrativas sobre toxicidad y riesgo, entre otros, para revelar cómo los consumidores buscan en la comida ecológica un equilibrio personal y colectivo. Un equilibrio que es nutricional, pero también es médico, espiritual, moral y político, y que está lejos de ser perfecto.
Las responsabilidades sobre las sustancias químicas y los compuestos tóxicos persistentes (CTP): una perspectiva antropológica sobre los riesgos
En este artículo se analizan las responsabilidades atribuidas a las instituciones públicas, a las... more En este artículo se analizan las responsabilidades atribuidas a las instituciones públicas, a las industrias, a las instituciones científicas, al individuo y a la ciudadanía sobre los peligros y riesgos en relación a las sustancias y compuestos químicos presentes en el medio ambiente y en los alimentos. El análisis se enmarca en una investigación más amplia sobre las representaciones socioculturales de la experiencia corporal de la contaminación humana, y específicamente, la contaminación interna por Compuestos Tóxicos Persistentes (CTP), y en la que se analizan los discursos sociales, legos y científicos, sobre los peligros de la exposición a las sustancias químicas, y sobre las responsabilidades, consecuencias y posibles soluciones.
AIBR, Revista de Antropologia Iberoamericana
This paper analyzes the ways in which pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the presence of c... more This paper analyzes the ways in which pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the presence of chemical substances in food products. It also deals with how they reflect on the effects of those substances on their own health and that of the baby and the foetus when they think about processes of accumulation, transmission and elimination of those substances inside their bodies. Our first hypothesis is that women's discourses about the health effects of Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) is related to the social distance of the social actors that reproduce these discourses. The acceptability of these discourses is more evident the greater is the trust in the social actors who transmit this information. This paper analyzes the discourses of health workers and the close social environment of these women, since both play an essential role in the transmission of these discourses. Despite the fact that the dietary advice received by women is strongly medicalized, the information provided on chemical substances in food in the medical environment is scarce and not homogeneous. Thus, this type of risk is made invisible in the doctor-patient relationship, and the responsibility for managing it usually falls on women.
Caring relationships online in later life
This paper particularly investigates the affective relationships that participants maintain onlin... more This paper particularly investigates the affective relationships that participants maintain online and how caring relationships are built in online contexts, with a particular focus on social media and mobile technologies. Through the analysis of these types of relationships online we explore how quotidian acts of (i)organisation (micro-organisation); (ii) online sharing and civic participation (interests, hobbies, political views, and so on), and (iii) caring interactions contribute to building a sense of being copresent through social media. Finally, we define more closely the particular kind of affective relationships that we have called caring relationships.
Corporalidades permeables: Intersecciones entre medio ambiente y salud. Introducción al monográfico
AIBR, Revista de Antropologia Iberoamericana
A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, el desarrollo tecnológico en diversos campos industria... more A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, el desarrollo tecnológico en diversos campos industriales ha provocado que los seres humanos convivan, en mayor o menor medida, con diversos compuestos químicos sintéticos presentes en la atmósfera, el agua, la tierra y los alimentos. Estos compuestos han afectado, afectan y afectarán la salud de diversos grupos de población en distintas formas. El presente trabajo propone una visión del cuerpo contemporáneo pensado a partir de las múltiples relaciones entre medio ambiente y salud. En primer lugar, se realiza un somero recorrido por la literatura antropológica en torno a estos temas, sus planteamientos y preocupaciones, en el ámbito de la salud, el riesgo, la cultura, las instituciones políticas, la ciencia, y, especialmente, la alimentación. A continuación, se plantea el concepto de «corporalidades permeables» para designar el momento en que la toxicidad proveniente del medio ambiente se incorpora en los cuerpos humanos y los convierte en cuerpos permeables, relacionales y abiertos al mundo que los rodea. Finalmente, se presentan los trabajos que forman parte de este monográfico. Aquí se incluyen tres trabajos etnográficos en zonas con alta contaminación en Ghana, Argentina y Vietnam. Completan el monográfico otras tres contribuciones que tienen como eje el riesgo en la alimentación y que tratan sobre los alimentos funcionales en Argentina, los alimentos y su toxicidad en embarazadas y lactantes en España, y sobre las clasificaciones y elecciones alimentarias en la sociedad española.
Aula
* Esta investigación ha sido financiada por acup/Recercaixa. «hago de todo y no sé hacer funciona... more * Esta investigación ha sido financiada por acup/Recercaixa. «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo 78 y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores 79 roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores 81 roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores 83 roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores 85 roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián © EdicionEs UnivErsidad dE salamanca Aula, 24, 2018, pp. 77-92 «hago de todo y no sé hacer funcionar nada»: aprendizaje afectivo y relacional de tecnologías digitales en adultos mayores 91 roser beneito-montagut, arantza begueria y nizaiá cassián
Qualitative Research
With the digital availability of social data helping reshape ethnographic research and thus broad... more With the digital availability of social data helping reshape ethnographic research and thus broadening the mainstream understanding of ethnography, this research proposes a set of strategies to overcome current limitations in doing ethnography. Based on a two-year online and offline ethnographic project on social media use in later life, insights are provided into how the practices and meanings of ethnography are being reconstructed and negotiated in response to the explosion of digital social data and through team practices. This paper reviews how collaborative and interdisciplinary ethnographic reflection is sustained and extended by digital tools, creating a live source of data that can be analysed within the framework of ethnography. As a contribution to current debates on the 'Social Life of Methods', it also reviews epistemic issues associated with digital data and team ethnography, such as the role of the ethnographer(s), the field(s) and computational data analysis. The article reaches the conclusion that digital team ethnography is a viable option for undertaking thick and descriptive studies about the use of social media, which in turn favours a collaborative, non-hierarchical and dialogue-driven knowledge production process.
Is there a role for the social web to reduce social isolation and promote wellbeing among older people?
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
In this article, we analyze how pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the inside of their bod... more In this article, we analyze how pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the inside of their bodies as well as their thoughts regarding the accumulation and elimination of chemical compounds present in food, and how these are then transmitted to the fetus. We explore different social perceptions of risk regarding the circulation of chemical compounds inside the body using qualitative research based on the technique of body mapping, comprised of women’s figures of their bodies in combination with comments on the figures, food diaries and narratives from in-depth interviews. We examine how these 41 women (21 pregnant and 20 breastfeeding) perceive the body’s internal mechanisms during the stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as the circulation of chemical contaminants within it. The body mapping technique allowed us to analyze participants’ knowledge of internal pollution, a little-understood process in society. Thanks to these pregnant and breastfeeding women, who made an ...
She is a member of the Digital Sociology Research Group (DSrG) and was a member of Cardiff Online... more She is a member of the Digital Sociology Research Group (DSrG) and was a member of Cardiff Online Social Media Observatory (COSMOS). She is also associated with the Care and Preparedness in the Network Society (Carenet) research group at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute in the Open University of Catalonia (Spain). She is interested in digital ethnographic projects and also excited about the critical exploration of the possibilities that the use of what is being called "big data" has opened up for social researchers to better understand what is going on in society. Her current research focuses on how social media "affects" everyday life social relationships and everyday life mediated affects (and emotions). She is particularly interested in studying social media experience in later life, the emerging notions of care in digital societies and social isolation. During the past years she has conducted research in interdisciplinary settings, working with computer scientists, engineers and social scientists. She was a research fellow in a EU funded project (Disaster 2.0) enquiring the role of Social Media and its adoption by public sector organizations for risk and crisis communication. More recently, she was PI in a research project studying social media use in later life and she is currently co-investigator on an international research project entitled "Being Connected at Home: Making use of digital devices in later life". Her research has been funded by a number of organizations and has been published in several peer-refereed journals, such as Qualitative Research and Sociological Perspectives.
Alimentación, salud y riesgo en tiempos de pandemia por COVID-19
Ressenya "La alimentación como cuestión política Polisemias de la alimentación. Salud, desperdicio, hambre y patrimonio" Observatori de l’alimentació (2019)
Ressenya "La alimentacion como cuestion politica Polisemias de la alimentacion. Salud, despe... more Ressenya "La alimentacion como cuestion politica Polisemias de la alimentacion. Salud, desperdicio, hambre y patrimonio"Observatori de l’alimentacio (2019)Barcelona: Edicions de l’Universitat de Barcelona.104 p.ISBN: 978-84-9168-181-6
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I do everything, but I don't know how to make anything work': Affective and relational learning of social media in later life
This exploratory paper argues that treating older adults learning as “representational knowledge”... more This exploratory paper argues that treating older adults learning as “representational knowledge” acquisition is not adequate if we want to understand how they learn to use digital technologies in general, and social media technologies in particular. Using examples taken from an ethnographic study exploring social media use in later life, the case is made for a range of digital practices and affective relations through which learning happens. The idea of communities of practice is a useful approach, however it also needs to be expanded to account for the practices that happened outside of the social and cultural centers and outside of the groups of interest formed around the interests in digital technologies. It is also useful to answer the question of how and why particular forms of “pedagogical authority” are enacted through particular digital practices, which are highly relational and affective, and how these forms of expertise become identity traits. We further discuss the impli...
“Like a sediment that stays in the body”: Social percep-tion of persistent toxic substances and other synthetic chemical substances in food among pregnant and breastfeeding women in Spain
AIBR, Revista de Antropologia Iberoamericana
Permeable corporalities: Intersections between the environment and health
AIBR, Revista de Antropologia Iberoamericana
Quality in Ageing and Older Adults
Purpose-Social isolation and loneliness are recognised social, health and wellbeing problems that... more Purpose-Social isolation and loneliness are recognised social, health and wellbeing problems that particularly affect later life. They have been the subject of many recent studies. Studies examining the role of the internet in addressing these problems have multiplied. However, it is still not known whether internetmediated social interaction has any role in mitigating social isolation and or loneliness. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to review previous research that investigates the relationship between internet use for communication and social isolation and loneliness. Design/methodology/approach-This paper reviews the empirical literature published since 2000 and expands on previous literature reviews by including a variety of research designs and disciplines. Findings-Despite the recent increase in studies, there is still little evidence to show internet effects on social isolation and loneliness. It is concluded that future research programmes aimed at reducing them by the use of the internet should include more robust methodological and theoretical frameworks, employ longitudinal research designs and provide a more nuanced description of both the social phenomena (social isolation and loneliness) and internet-mediated social interaction. Originality/value-Previous reviews are not restricted to internet-based studies and include several types of interventions aiming at reducing social isolation and/or loneliness. They do not attempt to disentangle the internet effects of social isolation and loneliness.
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Papers by Arantza Begueria
En aquesta conversa a la fresca, parlarem de temes tan variats com els imaginaris al voltant de la fermentació, de les formes en com concebem el menjar, de les cures o de fer comunitat, entre d'altres. Seguidament, en el taller de Kombutxa posarem sobre la taula coneixements i habilitats al voltant de l'aprofitament i de la generació de sabors. Ens preguntarem: Quina és la relació entre la fermentació i la sobirania alimentària? Com construir pràctiques alimentàries que trenquin amb les formes tradicionals de consum? Com incentivar una educació continuada que interrelacioni alimentació, sostenibilitat i hàbits des d'una perspectiva intercultural?
En esta sesión se va a exponer parte de una etnografía realizada con consumidores de comida ecológica en la ciudad de Barcelona. En concreto, se abordarán las cuestiones relativas al cuerpo humano. Por un lado, se hará un recorrido por las ideas, nociones y conceptualizaciones respecto al cuerpo y su relación con la toxicidad y el riesgo, explorando la vigencia social de dicotomías clásicas como la de pureza-impureza corporal, o la relación entre individuo y sociedad. En segundo lugar, se expondrán las estrategias corporales, tanto alimentarias como no alimentarias, que se usan para lidiar con la experiencia de la contaminación. A través de la exploración del cuerpo individual, social y político, esta presentación relatará también las maneras en que el consumo de comida ecológica se relaciona no solamente con el ámbito de la salud, sino también con ámbitos tan heterogéneos como la espiritualidad, la economía, la política o la moral.
A partir de una etnografía sobre alimentación ecológica en Barcelona, se constata esta relación que se halla en la confluencia entre el bienestar personal, la espiritualidad y la alimentación. La elección de productos ecológicos supone, para algunas personas, una forma de buscar la salud holística y la plenitud física, así como un equilibrio de tipo espiritual y emocional en armonía con el mundo y el entorno.
Una parte importante de los consumidores de alimentos ecológicos usan las medicinas alternativas y las espiritualidades new age en su repertorio de prácticas individuales de relación con el mundo. En este repertorio, la alimentación ecológica está imbuida por el mismo tipo de nociones de bienestar holístico. Un ejemplo de ello es la noción de energía, tan usual en la Nueva Era, que insufla los alimentos y transita por ellos, de forma que éstos devienen un vínculo energético con el entorno. De la misma forma que la meditación y la respiración son formas de regulación corporal en la Nueva Era, la alimentación ecológica también implica una depuración física y espiritual de tipo ascético y simbólico, que cristaliza a nivel práctico en ritos de paso, como la conversión de “no-consumidor” a “consumidor”, o en rituales de depuración, como los ayunos y las dietas depurativas.
Aunque el análisis discursivo de la alimentación ecológica incluye también elementos médicos, políticos o medioambientales, el objetivo de este texto es proponer que el estudio de la espiritualidad pueda ser abordado y complementado por campos de estudio más allá de la antropología de la religión, o la médica, como, por ejemplo, la antropología de la alimentación.
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La etnografía completa se puede leer en:
Begueria, A. (2016). Un equilibrio imperfecto. Alimentación ecológica, cuerpo y toxicidad. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.
El objetivo de esta ponencia es presentar una exploración etnográfica de las ideas sobre el cuerpo humano que surgen en un grupo de consumidores de alimentos ecológicos en la ciudad de Barcelona. Esta comunicación tratará sobre las relaciones que se establecen entre cuerpo y toxicidad, así como sobre las estrategias corporales, tanto alimentarias como no alimentarias, que se usan para lidiar con la experiencia de la contaminación. A través de la exploración del cuerpo individual, social y político, esta presentación relatará las maneras en que el consumo de comida ecológica se relaciona no solamente con el ámbito de la salud, sino también con la economía, la política o la moral. Finalmente, se mostrará la comida ecológica como una forma simbólica de lidiar con la frontera entre el individuo y su entorno, una frontera ambigua que se sitúa, precisamente, en el cuerpo humano.
En la sociedad contemporánea, la idea de riesgo permea la experiencia social cotidiana y la alimentación es uno de los lugares donde esta idea se hace especialmente relevante. La proliferación de dispositivos inteligentes provoca que, en los últimos años, haya habido un auge en la demanda de aplicaciones móviles sobre estilo de vida (dietas, ejercicio físico) y salud (mHealth, eHealth), que ya han sido objeto de múltiples trabajos académicos. Sin embargo, carecemos de análisis que se centren en la contaminación y el riesgo alimentario en relación a la idea de la corporalidad humana. Este proyecto pretende reflexionar sobre las construcciones y reconfiguraciones del cuerpo humano en la intersección entre la antropología de la alimentación, el cuerpo, la salud y la tecnología.
Dado que el proyecto está en su primera fase de ideación, el objeto de esta comunicación es generar debate en torno a las posibles implicaciones de este tipo de tecnología para la alimentación y el cuerpo. La presentación planteará cuestiones en torno a la cuantificación del riesgo corporal (quantified self), la confianza en conocimientos expertos, la alimentación como herramienta de control del cuerpo y los cambios de hábitos alimentarios, así como aspectos teóricos de análisis del cuerpo cuantificado (Lupton, Foucault), el cuerpo contaminado (Douglas, Kavanagh y Broom) y el cuerpo digital (Haraway, Latour).
The background for this discussion is an ongoing (2011-2013) interdisciplinary project of etnoepidemiological base, whose main objective is to analyze the social representations of the bodily experience of human contamination and internal pollution by toxic substances and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP).
POPs are chemical substances used in agricultural and industrial settings. They get embedded in the interior of the human body through environmental contamination and consumption of polluted food in small doses over the long term. The use of these substances may cause disorders and public health problems in the future.
In order to study the social knowledge and bodily experience associated with toxicity in the Spanish society, this project analyses the social discourses among Spanish population that has not been highly exposed, intoxicated or diagnosed with an environmental disease.
The research project employs a mixed methodology approach that includes semi-structured interviews, an online survey and media data analysis. It is currently in the stage of qualitative data analysis and quantitative research design.
The aim of this presentation is to discuss one of the research techniques used in this study: the analysis of the comments made by readers of digital press on the websites of the major Spanish newspapers regarding issues of atmospheric pollution and food contamination. Reader comments contribute to the diverse, complex and contested social thinking and public discourse around this complex environmental phenomenon.
Although media researchers are recently beginning to use the discourse analysis of online reader’s comments for academic purposes, no previous research within medical anthropology that analyzes this particular source of information was found in the exploratory study for this investigation. Therefore, this presentation wishes to discuss this research technique and its potentiality for medical anthropologists, as well as the difficulties posed by it.
Medical anthropology often deals with the complex relationship between lay and scientific discourses regarding numerous health issues. In a globalised and increasingly media-saturated world, public health researchers need to consider the significant role of mass media and the Internet in the formation of lay knowledge and social perceptions about health and health risks, along with the uses of Internet for healthcare practices and self-help. As virtual communities of practice develop, social researchers will need to adopt methods that can interpret both the discourses that emerge and their wider socio-political impacts.
The study of online readers’ comments offers the researcher both opportunities and challenges for engaging with the Internet as a method for observational research. In this presentation, several issues raised during the investigation will be considered: the advantages and difficulties posed by the absence of the researcher from the field, the quality and representational capacity of the collected data, and the ethical and methodological issues raised by anonymity and privacy. Finally, the applicability of such technique for medical anthropologists will be debated.