Youth Work and Serendipity: Some Anthropological Implications

Social Sciences

Federico Pozzoni¹ 

[1] Nationalism Studies Program, Central European University, Budapest 1051, Hungary;

关键词: serendipity;    youth work;    anthropology;    non-formal education;    Erasmus+;   

DOI  :  10.3390/socsci7030045

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This article explores the anthropological notion and methodology of serendipity as applied to youth work and non-formal education training methods. I introduce the term and its uses by drawing connections to the concept of ethnographic fieldwork and strategy to approach anthropological contexts. I then draw a parallel between the role of the anthropologist and the youth worker. I investigate the different options when dealing with groups and facing the contradictions of conducting fieldwork or trainings. Thus, I propose a distinction between the anthropological concept of ‘serendipity’ and the youth work-related concept of ‘improvisation’. I present ambiguous cases of the serendipity process and their implications based on my own direct experience of involvement with youth work through the methodology of autoethnography. Finally, I address different perspectives of serendipity seen as a storytelling construction. Ultimately, I draw useful conclusions on the understanding of serendipity and improvisation in the two contexts.

【 授权许可】

Unknown