First published Open Access under a Creative Commons license as What is
Rhythmanalysis?, this title is now also available as part of the
Bloomsbury Research Methods series.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in Henri Lefebvre's
posthumously published volume, Rhythmanalysis. For Lefebvre and
subsequent scholars, rhythmanalysis is a research strategy which offers
a means of thinking space and time together in the study of everyday
life, and this remains its strength and appeal.
This book addresses the task of how to do rhythmanalysis. It discusses
the history and development of rhythmanalysis from Lefebvre to the
present day in a range of fields including cultural history and studies
of place, work and nature. For Lefebvre, it is necessary to be 'grasped
by' a rhythm at a bodily level in order to grasp it. And yet we also
need critical distance to fully understand it. Rhythmanalysis is
therefore both corporeal and conceptual. This book considers how the
body is directly deployed as a research tool in rhythmanalytical
research as well as how audio-visual methods can get at rhythm beyond
the capacity of the senses to perceive it. In particular, the book
includes detailed discussion of research on different forms of
mobility - from driving to dancing - and on the social life of markets -
from finance to fish.
Dawn Lyon highlights the gains, limitations and lively potential of
rhythmanalysis for spatially, temporally and sensually attuned practices
of research. This engaging text will be of interest to students and
researchers in sociology, criminology, socio-legal studies, geography,
urban studies, architecture, anthropology, economics and cultural
studies.
