Doing and writing ethnography

Question 1

What is the notion of the honorary male?

Answer 1

People who don’t identify as male – specifically cis women – status afforded to female researchers to spend time in male-dominated spaces

Question 2

Who is Appert? What is her view on the honorary male notion ( 2 idea) ?

Answer 2

Assistant professor at Cornell University

1) Critique of honorary male – not being a female not same as being male
2. ‘Gendered imperson’ – impossible to escape gendering of relationships, but ethnographer still may not be perceiving as subject with agency

Question 3

How does Appert mediate her place as an honorary male?

Answer 3

Talks about interactions with friends – brings in Arabic phrases and words
Has techniques to withhold advances – uses Islamic words to do this

Question 4

What characterises Appert’s writing style?

Answer 4

Anecdotal writing is contracted
Theoretical writing is dense
Openly reflexive - acknowledges own limit of practice

Question 5

What are the three kinds of ethnographic tales?

Answer 5

1. Realist: third person – focus on culture (e.g., the x did this) – distorted but usually concrete
2. Confessional: first-person – focus on author (e.g., I saw the x do this) – sometimes self-indulgent
3. Impressionist: blend of realist + confessional – captures something of feel of space but in detail – exact but necessarily imaginative rendering of fieldwork

Question 6

4 kinds of authority

Answer 6

Experiential
Interpretive
Dialogic/discursive
Polyphonic - allows multiple voices that speaks with and against author