Decoding the Communal Self: Ethnographic Documentary and Design as Methodologies for Understanding a Social Phenomenon

Abstract

This article draws on the interdisciplinary potentialities of design for societal intervention, to present and discuss approaches to ethnographic documentary in vulnerable socio-economic contexts, and specifically social housing neighborhoods. The article reflects on the impact of the approach taken in the project “Echoing the Communal Self: designing the dissemination and replication of self-initiated practices in underprivileged urban communities in a post-pandemic world” (ECHO) and specifically the results obtained in the case of the Recreational Association Club Balteiro Jovem, located in the Balteiro neighborhood in Vila Nova de Gaia, northern Portugal. The main research challenge was to get to know and document this community practice, through close collaboration with the social actors involved and through the construction of an informative and inspiring narrative. This approach also helped to disseminate the emerging narrative beyond the borders of the neighborhood itself. This paper highlights the interlinkages between authors and practices related to design, anthropology, and audiovisual documentary, and reflects on the empirical and interdisciplinary work carried out. This research resulted in a documentary film, exhibited to the community and the city, and was also adopted as a tool in the work of social action technicians, for the promotion of community initiatives.