Introduction: Walking as embodied research in emergent Anthropocene landscapes

In this chapter the authors introduce the volume as a whole. They locate their interest in walking as a form of research practice in the Walking Seminar Project which they began in 2012. Pointing out that there is no such thing as ‘walking-in-itself’ but rather many different modes of walking, they argue that any contemporary walking project needs to be cognizant of the growing number of involuntary walkers, exemplified in refugee and migrant mobilities. Arguing that there has been an uptick in interest in walking methodologies across a range of disciplines in recent years, they offer a review of the recent literature on walking as research practice. They further situate their approach in relation to two areas of contemporary debate. The first is the broad debate around the Anthropocene and the implications of the climate emergency. The second is the contemporary discussion around decolonial thinking and practices, and the conceptual and methodological challenge of walking with decolonial intention.