I called the blog portion of this site Field Notes because it seemed a little more interesting than plain old “blog,” and because I wanted a place to record some of my observations from walking across fields on desire paths. But I’m finding already that I have other notes that I want to write here – things that come to mind spontaneously while watching a movie or reading a book. So perhaps field should be construed in a broader sense – as my field of study.

I’m writing these notes in blog form for a few reasons. First of all, it gives me an excuse to rephrase (read: make intelligible) my notes before I forget what I even wrote. It’s sort of an intermediary ground between my illegible scribbles and a final, polished product. For that reason, it’s valuable to my writing process: it saves me from poring over my disorganized handwritten notes, and it forces me to make a few more connections before I tackle the grand task of pulling all of my research together. It also gives me an opportunity to receive feedback, and it makes my work, and my process, accessible to others: colleagues, friends, funding bodies, desire-path-walkers – anyone who might hold any sort of stake in my work. I like talking to people about what I do, and gaining their insights. This is one way of doing that. So please, continue reading, comment wildly and freely, and share this site with anyone you know who may be interested. And if commenting on a blog isn’t your preferred method of feedback, feel free to send me an email at erika.luckert@gmail.com.

Happy wanderings!