Transcript Ethnography - uidaho.edu

ETHNOGRAPHY
Ethno: people or folk; Graphy: describe
something
= Ethnography: describing and understanding
another way of life from the native point of view
(Neuman, 2007)
Aim
• Alexis
History:
• Ardis/Kofi
Methodology:
• Katie
Examples:
• Alexis
• Strengths &
Weaknesses
• Exercise
What is an Ethnography?
It documents
routine daily lives
of people
(Fetterman,1998)
Explores a cultural
group
Lives with people,
or spends a lot of
time with them
Has a guiding
question that
evolves during the
study (Hall, 2003)
Aim of Ethnography
Aim
Unobtrusive
Identifies geographical and
temporal coordinates
Makes visible lives of those
not normally told (Williams,
2000)
Tries to obtain insider’s
view of how a group
manages and organizes
their time (Viller, 2004)
Understands the point of
view from inside the group
(McCleverty, 1997)
Aim
To identify behavior
patterns and
predict; to make the
reader understand
the perspective of
the native to the
culture studied
(Fetterman, 1998)
Understand context,
complexity, and
politics of social
processes (Warren,
2004)
History of
Anthropology/Ethnography (USA)
Morgan
Lawyer and
anthropologist
In 1851 he published
an ethnography
about Indians in the
USA. He didn't
gather the
information himselfwas a “sofa”
anthropologist
History of Anthropology (United
Kingdom)
The first
ethnographies in
Britain were
published in 18981899. They were
built on field
research like we
know it today
Malinowski
Considered the
father of modern
anthropology
Wrote numerous
ethnographies that
are well known still
today
Sir Frazer about Malinowski’s Methods
in “Argonauts of the Western Pacific.”
Malinowski’s work was done
under the best conditions and
provided the best possible
results at that time
Good theoretical training
Stayed with the Trobriands for a
great time
Lived as a native among natives
Watched them daily at work and
at play
Had conversations with them in
their own language
Derived information from
personal observation
Statements directly by the
natives
Characteristics of Malinowski’s
method (Malinowski, 1922)
Malinowski´s Methods.
“I consider that only such
ethnographic sources are
of unquestionable scientific
value, in which we can
clearly draw the line
between, on the one hand,
the results of direct
observations and of native
statements and
interpretations, and on the
other hand, the inferences
of the author, based on his
common sense and
psychological insight”
(Malinowski, 1922, p. 3)
Malinowski - Important for
Ethnographic Work:
Accurate information
Complex information
Observation
Speaking the native
language is important
No contact with white people
Seek information naturally,
instead of having informants
Should have a strong
theoretical background
Join yourself with the natives
Typical ways of thinking and
feeling
Use the native language as
an instrument (Malinowski,
1922)
Evans-Pritchard´s Methodology
Malinowski´s student
Did research among
the Azande 1926-1930
1930 published his
ethnography
“Witchcraft, oracles,
and magic among the
Azande”
Used informants
Native language
Length of stay 1-2
years
Get to know natives
through the children
Live like the natives
(Evans-Pritchard,
1988)
1950s-1980s: Ethnography as “thick
description” (Clifford Geertz)
Culture based
Meaning oriented. Meaning is
“a set of culturally constructed
and historically specific guides,
frames, or models of and for
human feeling, intention, and
action” (Ortner 1999: 137)
Specific to time and place (i.e.
cultural relativism)
Opposed to power and politics.
“[C]ulture is not power,
something to which social
events, behaviours,
institutions, or processes can
be causally attributed; it is a
context, something within
which they can be intelligiblythat is, thickly-described”(
Geertz 1973:14)
Opposed to the “thin
description” of post-positivism
Attributes of Thick Description
Hermeneutics
Semiotics
Data: “our own constructions
of other people’s
constructions of what they and
their compatriots are up to”
(Geertz 1973:9)
Analysis: “guessing at
meanings, assessing the
guesses, and drawing
explanatory conclusions for
the better guesses” (p. 20)
Theory: a “General Theory of
Cultural Interpretation” is not
possible, but a “cultural
theory” could be derived
Generalization: not possible
across cases but within cases
Prediction: not prediction but
anticipation
From 1980s: Re-emergence of politics and
power in cultural/historical analysis of social
Phenomena (Edward Said and Michel
Foucault)
social phenomena as
effects of external
power structures (e.g.
political and
economic institutions
at the national and
international level)
Influenced by the rise
of new perspectives
such as critical theory
and neo-Marxist
ideology
cultural universalism
Today’s Ethnography: Holistic and
Evolutionary in nature
Characterised by a lack
of consensus
Dissolving conceptual
oppositions (Sahlins
1993)
Departure from the
approach of “searching
under the disturbed
topsoil of modernity for
the traces of a pristine
and primitive existence”
(Sahlins 1993)
Analysis of local
situations with reference
to relevant external
institutional/political
structures
Eclecticism of
methodologies/ methods
The Effects of Post-Modernism on
Ethnography
Postmodernist came
into anthropology
around 1980
Interpretation on
interpretation on
interpretation…
Reflexivity
Generalizations
Power
(Bowmann 1997,
Layton 1997,
Nugent 1996)
Methodology
Outline of Process
Identifying
problem or topic of
interest
Fieldwork – Data
collection and
analysis
Participant
Observation –
Individuals and
groups
Analysis – Holistic
Report (Fetterman,
1998)
Methodology
Definition:
Documents the
culture by studying
the routine, daily
lives of people
(Fetterman, 1998),
(Morse and
Richards, 2002)
Methodology
Ethnographer’s Jargon
Emic – inside (Hall,
2003)
Etic – outside (Hall,
2003)
Key informant / key
actor – individual of
group who closely
interacts with
ethnographer
(Fetterman, 1998)
Culture - beliefs,
values, behaviors of
a cohesive people
(Morse and Richards,
2002)
Methodology
Characteristics of
Ethnographies
Holistic
Data collection
and analysis
occur together
Data collection
oscillates
between
individuals and
groups (Fetterman,
1998)
Negotiate Access
Methodology
Fieldwork (Morse and
Richards, 2002),
(Fetterman, 1998)
Stages
Negotiating entry–
the Gatekeeper, Key
Actors, Key
Informants
Introductory period –
routines, roles,
relationships
Participatory
observation–
important! (Hall,
2003)
Withdrawal – Focus
on analysis
Methodology
Fieldwork Methods
Selection and sampling
Participant observation
Interviewing
Autobiographical
interviewing
Questionnaires
Projective techniques
Participant’s classification
Outcropping
Existing documented
information
Proxemics and kinesics
Folktales
Notes, notes, notes!!!
(Fetterman, 1998)
Methodology
Analysis
Evaluating relevance
Looking for patterns
Considering
phenomena through
the cultural
perspective
“Thick description”
(Morse and
Richards, 2002)
Classifications,
parameters, etic
observations
Maps, drawings,
charts (Fetterman,
1998)
Methodology
A few words on
writing…
Writing must be
good from the
field notes to the
final product
Write for your
audience
Write for the
objective – to
make the etic
perspective see
the emic
perspective
Methodology
Software
Dictation software
MicNotePad
Power Secretary
IBM Voice Type Gold
File-transfer Software
File Transfer Protocol
Software
Telnet Software
Timbukto Pro
Fetch (Fetterman, 1998)
Analysis Software
NUDIST* NVIVO
Examples
The National Park
System Anthropology
Background
Embedding Cultural
Anthropology in NPS
Introduction of ERI
(Ethnographic
Resources Inventory)
(Everett, 2006)
Sense of Place
By Keith Basso
• AnarchoEnvironmentalism
Study
– By Nicole Shepherd
– Gaining Access
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
In-Depth understanding of a
culture amongst a group of
people (detailed and more
likely valid interpretations)
Gives a voice to a culture to
express their views, which
might not otherwise be heard
Influential in creating an
understanding among
outsiders
Also may reveal embedded
cultural values that were not
obvious to the group
Advantages and Disadvantages
Disadvantages:
Cumbersome and Timeconsuming, and can be
expensive
Possibility that researcher is
changing the natural way a
culture behaves by being
present
Not really able to generalize
findings
Inappropriate for analyzing
complex environmental
problems whose causeeffect relationships are
external to the place and
time of study (e.g., climate
change)
Difficulty of reconciling
constructive engagement
with critical reflection