Immersive scholarship: Inhabiting and crafting storied lifeworlds through ethnographic research retreats

Retreats are frequently examined as an ethnographic field to investigate a range of phenomena that occurs while on retreat. This process involves the researcher/s entering the lifeworlds of the retreat. Through immersion in lifeworlds, ethnographers derive insights into the how, what and why within retreat settings. However, designing and facilitating retreats as a method of ethnographic inquiry does more than this. There is not only immersion in lifeworlds but an active co-creation of them. This article presents a case study of a retreat designed for the primary purpose of conducting ethnographic research. The retreat brought together five self-identifying women to explore their storied experiences of belonging. This article shows how the retreat not only provided the setting but dynamically shaped the research. We argue that research retreats are an inclusive way of conducting ethnographic research that attunes and attends to relationally embodied collective meaning-making processes involved in crafting lifeworlds.