Ways of Walking : Ethnography and Practice on Foot

This exciting new volume focuses on how humans inhabit their environment, considering ’techniques of the body’ and walking behaviours to better understand the variety of embodied meanings. Its original collection of work has contributions from anthropologists, sociologists, geographers and specialists in education and architecture offering a broad readership of new, innovative and previously overlooked ideas.

Despite its importance to how humans inhabit their environments, walking has rarely received the attention of ethnographers. Ways of Walking combines discussions of embodiment, place and materiality to address this significant and largely ignored ''technique of the body''. This book presents studies of walking in a range of regional and cultural contexts, exploring the diversity of walking behaviours and the variety of meanings these can embody. As an original collection of ethnographic work that is both coherent in design and imaginative in scope, this primarily anthropological book includes contributions from geographers, sociologists and specialists in education and architecture, offering insights into human movement, landscape and social life. With its interdisciplinary nature and truly international appeal, Ways of Walking will be of interest to scholars across a range of social sciences, as well as to policy makers on both local and national levels.