Module 3 Flashcards
Ethnography
‘A theoretically informed desc and explanation of a way of life - Desc + explanation on what they saw + experienced -> informed by other anth queries = scientific rigor
“We cannot speak of objectively existing facts: theory creates facts”
Malinowski
A theory will inform the way a researcher sees the world
Fieldwork includes
Writing about people and writing about relationships that humans are somehow entangled in e.g. the sky
What do ethnographers do
participate in the lives of the research participants. Observe cultural practices + participate, take field-notes, conduct interviews, interpret findings, the anthropological theories to ground work
Qualitative research
aims to understand the why and how of human behaviour through methods such as ppt observation and interviews. Usually qualitative methodology
Ethnography prioritizes
Research + writing approach - field based rather than lab based - often (not always) cross-cultural comparative perspective, case study approach, often microanalysis over macro (small over big) - might look at anth theory + seeing if it applies in different field site
Embodied process
Ethnography, often a scientific approach that engages observation and direct experience, based on being involved
What does ethnography consider
Subjectivities and objectivities - can be emic (insider) or etic (outsider)
Engages a researchers bias
‘Deep hanging out’
Profs form of participant observation, bringing your critical lens with you
what does involvement in Cape Bretons 50/50 hockey tickets demonstrate?
Immersion, being present, witnessing, qualitative research methods.
The field in anthropological research
can be literally anywhere
Kula system
an economic reality, - decorative armbands + necklaces are traded for prestige - only elites participate
Described by Malinowski, pioneered participant observation
Culture Shock
refers to the feelings of confusion and insecurity that arise from living in a new culture or surroundings
Ethics
about thinking through our relationships and responsibilities - moral and political choices that we make in our multiple encounters in the field
Reflexive thinking
how our personal opinions + beliefs influence the ways in which we see the people + activities around us (K + S) - method to engage + reflect upon our own positions, backgrounds, cultural knowledges, and bias - Mark
Armchair scholarship vs ppt ob
§ Armchair scholarship - does not involve primary research collection - focuses on existent scholarship theories and ideas - no fieldwork
§ Participant observation - joining + engaging in the culture… - holistic + depth provided
Seth M Holmes
- medical anth + physician - work focus on ideas of social hierarchies + health inequalities - looks at migrant farm workers - MEX + SA -> to pick berries on organic farm in Washington state - talks about embodied anth - careful in conflating his own exp as med doc compared to the lives of the migrant farm workers - his embodied exp allows some more deeper insight than just ob + interviews
Collabourative ethnography
post-colonial (attempting) process - challenges past rsrch practices where anths dev the research Q alone + then go into the field -
§ Combined uni community - research team: integral to interview process, transcribed interview reviews by interviewee for accuracy, ensure that the info provided was appropriate
§ Key difficulty for researchers - multi level of approvals necessary to achieve a respectful …
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies
ethnographic description of migrant life and work. A reflection on how to conduct anth field study in these contexts.
Notion of embodied anthropology: the idea that being a researcher approaches an understanding of the conditions being studied through the immersion of ones own mind and body into the translocal world of the informants
