Chapter 3 Flashcards
Ethnography: Anthropology’s Distinctive Stratgey
Traditionally, process of becoming cultural anthropologist required field experience in another society
Ethnography
The firsthand personal study of a local setting
Ethnographic Techniques
- -> Direct first hand observation
- -> Conversation
- -> The genealogical method
- -> Detailed work with key consultants
- -> In-depth interviewing
- -> Discovery of local beliefs and perceptions
- -> Problem-oriented research
- -> Longitudinal research
- -> Team research
Observation and participant observation
Ethnographers pay attention to and record the details of daily life
Conversation, interviewing, and interview schedules
Participating in local life means constantly talking to people and asking questions
Interview Schedule
Form used to structure a formal, but personal, interview
Questionnaire
Form used by sociologists to obtain comparable information from respondents
The genealogical method
Using diagrams and symbols to record kin connections
Key cultural consultants
Experts on a particular aspect of local life
Cultural consultants
People who teach an ethnographer about their culture
Life history
A personal portrait of someones life in a culture
Emic (native oriented) approach
Investigates how natives think, categorize the world, express thoughts, and interpret stimuli
Etic (science oriented) approach
Emphasizes categories, interpretations, and features that the anthropologists considers important
Problem oriented ethnography
Most ethnographers enter the field with a specific problem to investigate
Longitudinal research
Long-term study, usually based on repeated visits
