Ethnography in absentia: Applying Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis in impossible-to-research spaces

Abstract

This article aims to illuminate the theoretical basis for rhythmanalysis as developed by Henri Lefebvre, who intended it to be a transdisciplinary concept that could be used to theorize everyday life, ‘from the most natural (physiological, biological) to the most sophisticated’. I will attempt to show how this concept can be transformed into a toolkit to research people groups (such as refugees, migrant workers, professionals) where it is impossible to conduct traditional ethnographic fieldwork either because of the difficulty of access or when an event (such as migration) has already taken place. It is a mainly theoretical paper informed by the author’s research on older migrants in Britain. It argues that if the principles behind rhythmanalysis can be distilled to conduct ethnography in absentia for a migrant worker group, then these same principles can be adapted to conduct research in most spaces where access and/or co-presence are difficult.