What do Anthropologists do? (Lecture 2)

Question 1

What do Anthropologists do? Explain.

(What did Clifford Geertz say about understanding what a science is?)

Answer 1

Ethno + Graphia

Ethnography

“Multitude” (nation/cuture) + “Writing”

Writing about the way of life of a people or culture

Look at what the practitioners DO on a day to day basis

Question 2

What does Ethnography mean in Anthropology?

Answer 2

Ethnography is a…

1. Set of commitments
2. Product
3. Process

Question 3

What is meant by Ethnography as a set of commitments? (Give 4 points)

Answer 3

Trying to understand people through their words and actions

Using holistic/contextualised analysis

Participant observation i.e NOT just “arm chair anthropology” or looking at the things the people make or write

Long-term commitment to investigation - getting to know people well enough so they’re not just ‘performing’ or acting to impress the ethnographer

Question 4

What is does field work in Ethnography as a process entail? (Give 3 points)

Answer 4

Field-work:

Long-term residence

Language proficiency

Participant Observation

Question 5

What is Participant Observation, and why is it important?

Answer 5

Participant Observation is…

Living with the people you’re studying and experiencing their day to day lives
(e.g. making a living, building a house)

And,

being detached and objective to record what you see and experience

It’s important because…

You learn things you otherwise wouldn’t have learnt, ask things you otherwise wouldn’t have (much of culture is implicit)

e.g. what’s appropriate in the culture, how to make a canoe, build a house, hunt