Open Access"Ontological Choreography" as an Ethnographic Tool
Author(s) -
Willemijn de Jong,
Nolwenn Bühler,
Yv E. Nay,
Kathrin Zehnder
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
tsantsa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2673-5377
pISSN - 1420-7834
DOI - 10.36950/tsantsa.2015.20.7435
Subject(s) - choreography , grasp , context (archaeology) , ethnography , sociology , epistemology , computer science , anthropology , geography , art , visual arts , philosophy , dance , archaeology , programming language
In this article the term "ontological choreography", coined by Charis Thompson, is used as a heuristic analytical device to grasp the different realities of reproductive technologies. The question is addressed as to whether this ethnographic tool is fruitful for understanding the making of families by heterosexual people and LGBTQ. Three case studies from a research project on fertility and family in the context of assisted reproduction in Switzerland reveal the fascinating complexities of temporal aspects of the ontological choreographies, but also some of their weaknesses as a tool. We propose to expand it by taking relationality and historical time into account.