Ethnography - McGranahan Flashcards
What is the definition of “qualitative research” with regard to anthropology?
Research that aims to discover participants’ meanings and social contexts.
What is an example of a technique used in qualitative research?
Any of:
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Surveys
- Observation
- I’m sure there’s loads of others…
What does the term “ethnography” mean with regards to anthropology?
Literally “writing of the people”. A “way of knowing” in which the observer situates themselves within a group to better understand that group’s way of life.
What does “relativism” mean with regards to anthropology?
The idea that knowledge, truth, and morality are related to a cultural/societal/historical context and are not absolute.
How does McGranahan state that classroom lectures and ethnography are related?
Lectures on anthropological theory can inform ethnographic practice (but still impossible to “teach” ethnography). fixed, was wrong before
Why does McGranahan state that “Ethnography cannot be taught”?
McGranahan argues that ethnography as a skillset must be learned through doing (informal learning) and that it cannot be taught formally in a classroom.
How does McGranahan use “squatting” as a metaphor for ethnographic research?
By offering that it is a human experience that destabilizes those unpracticed in it.
What broader topic is McGranahan hinting at by describing how children in the U.S. stop squatting prior to adulthood. How might this be different elsewhere?
In Western culture adults don’t squat. In other cultures squatting is totally normal for adults. Our culture teaches us which behaviours to adopt/retain and which to abandon.
What does the term “Thickness of Research” mean with regards to ethnography?
Nowadays: “density of situatedness” in terms of credibly “being there”. (holy shit this class is fake)
How does high quality ethnography relate to high quality professional observation?
Both result when they are purposefully informed by theory.
