ETHNOGRAPHYAim

History

Methodology

Examples

Strengths & Weaknesses

Historical-Comparative Research

Ethno: people or folk; Graphy: describe something

= Ethnography: describing and understanding another way of life from the native point of view (Neuman, 2007)

What is an Ethnography?It documents routine daily lives of people (Fetterman,1998)Explores a cultural groupLives with people, or spends a lot of time with themHas a guiding question that evolves during the study (Hall, 2003)

Where is it Used?

Cultural AnthropologySociologyBusinessOrganizational Psychology

AimAim of Ethnography

Unobtrusive

Identifies geographical and temporal coordinates

Makes visible lives of those not normally told (Williams, 2000)

Tries to obtain insider’s view of how a group manages and organizes their time (Viller, 2004)

Understands the point of view from inside the group (McCleverty, 1997)

Aim To identify behavior patterns and anticipate; to make the reader understand the perspective of the native to the culture studied (Fetterman, 1998)

Understand context, complexity, and politics of social processes (Warren, 2004)

History of Anthropology/Ethnography (USA)

Morgan Lawyer and anthropologistIn 1851 he published an ethnography about Indians in the USA. He didn't gather the information himself- was a “sofa” anthropologist

History of Anthropology (United Kingdom)

The first ethnographies in Britain were published in 1898-1899. They were built on field research like we know it todayMalinowskiConsidered the father of modern anthropologyWrote numerous ethnographies that are well known still today

Sir Frazer about Malinowski’s Methods in “Argonauts of the Western Pacific.”

Malinowski’s work was done under the best conditions and provided the best possible results at that timeGood theoretical training Stayed with the Trobriands for a great timeLived as a native among nativesWatched them daily at work and at play Had conversations with them in their own language Derived information from personal observation Statements directly by the nativesCharacteristics of Malinowski’s method (Malinowski, 1922)

Malinowski´s Methods

“I consider that only such ethnographic sources are of unquestionable scientific value, in which we can clearly draw the line between, on the one hand, the results of direct observations and of native statements and interpretations, and on the other hand, the inferences of the author, based on his common sense and psychological insight” (Malinowski, 1922, p. 3)

Malinowski - Important for Ethnographic Work:

Accurate informationComplex informationObservationSpeaking the native language is importantNo contact with white peopleSeek information naturally, instead of having informantsShould have a strong theoretical backgroundJoin yourself with the nativesTypical ways of thinking and feelingUse the native language as an instrument (Malinowski, 1922)

Evans-Pritchard´s Methodology Malinowski´s studentDid research among the Azande 1926-19301930 published his ethnography “Witchcraft, oracles, and magic among the Azande”Used informantsNative languageLength of stay 1-2 yearsGet to know natives through the childrenLive like the natives (Evans-Pritchard, 1988)

1950s-1980s: Ethnography as “thick description” (Clifford Geertz)

Culture based Meaning oriented. Meaning is “a set of culturally constructed and historically specific guides, frames, or models of and for human feeling, intention, and action” (Ortner 1999: 137)Specific to time and place (i.e. cultural relativism)Opposed to power and politics. “[C]ulture is not power, something to which social events, behaviours, institutions, or processes can be causally attributed; it is a context, something within which they can be intelligibly-that is, thickly-described”( Geertz 1973:14)Opposed to the “thin description” of post-positivism

Attributes of Thick DescriptionHermeneuticsSemioticsData: “our own constructions of other people’s constructions of what they and their compatriots are up to” (Geertz 1973:9)Analysis: “guessing at meanings, assessing the guesses, and drawing explanatory conclusions for the better guesses” (p. 20)Theory: a “General Theory of Cultural Interpretation” is not possible, but a “cultural theory” could be derivedGeneralization: not possible across cases but within casesPrediction: not prediction but anticipation

From 1980s: Re-emergence of politics and power in cultural/historical analysis of social

Phenomena (Edward Said and Michel Foucault)

Social phenomena as effects of external power structures (e.g. political and economic institutions at the national and international level)Influenced by the rise of new perspectives such as critical theory and neo-Marxist ideology

Today’s Ethnography: Holistic and Evolutionary in nature

Characterised by a lack of consensusDissolving conceptual oppositions (Sahlins 1993) Departure from the approach of “searching under the disturbed topsoil of modernity for the traces of a pristine and primitive existence” (Sahlins 1993)Analysis of local situations with reference to relevant external institutional/political structuresEclecticism of methodologies/ methods

The Effects of Post-Modernism on Ethnography

Postmodernist came into anthropology around 1980Interpretation on interpretation on interpretation…ReflexivityPower (Bowmann 1997, Layton 1997, Nugent 1996)

Methodology Outline of Process

Identifying problem or topic of interestFieldwork – Data collection and analysisParticipant Observation – Individuals and groupsAnalysis – Holistic Report (Fetterman, 1998)

MethodologyEthnographer’s Jargon

Emic – inside (Hall, 2003)

Etic – outside (Hall, 2003)

Key informant / key actor – individual of group who closely interacts with ethnographer (Fetterman, 1998)

Culture - beliefs, values, behaviors of a cohesive people (Morse and Richards, 2002)

Methodology Characteristics of EthnographiesHolisticData collection and analysis occur togetherData collection oscillates between individuals and groups (Fetterman, 1998)

Negotiate Access

MethodologyFieldwork (Morse and

Richards, 2002), (Fetterman, 1998)

StagesNegotiating entry– the Gatekeeper, Key Actors, Key InformantsIntroductory period –routines, roles, relationshipsParticipatory observation– important! (Hall, 2003)

Methodology Fieldwork Methods

Selection and samplingParticipant observationInterviewingAutobiographical interviewingQuestionnairesProjective techniquesParticipant’s classificationOutcroppingExisting documented informationProxemics and kinesicsFolktales Notes, notes, notes!!! (Fetterman, 1998)

MethodologyAnalysis

Evaluating relevance Looking for patternsConsidering phenomena through the cultural perspective“Thick description” (Morse and Richards, 2002)Classifications, parameters, etic observations Maps, drawings, charts (Fetterman, 1998)

Methodology A few words on writing…Writing must be good from the field notes to the final productWrite for your audienceWrite for the objective – to make the etic perspective see the emic perspective

ExamplesThe National Park System Anthropology Background

Embedding Cultural Anthropology in NPS

Introduction of ERI (Ethnographic Resources Inventory) (Everett, 2006)

Sense of PlaceBy Keith Basso

Anarcho-Environmentalism Study– By Nicole Shepherd– Gaining Access

Advantages and DisadvantagesAdvantages:

In-Depth understanding of a culture amongst a group of people (detailed and more likely valid interpretations)Gives a voice to a culture to express their views, which might not otherwise be heardInfluential in creating an understanding among outsidersAlso may reveal embedded cultural values that were not obvious to the group

Advantages and DisadvantagesDisadvantages:

Cumbersome and Time-consuming, and can be expensivePossibility that researcher is changing the natural way a culture behaves by being presentNot really able to generalize findingsInappropriate for analyzing complex environmental problems whose cause-effect relationships are external to the place and time of study (e.g., climate change)Difficulty of reconciling constructive engagement with critical reflection

Historical-Comparative

Historical-ComparativeDeals with countries and history

Powerful tool for addressing big questions

Switzerland and the U.S. have been compared in terms of the use of democracy and women’s right to voteCauses of Societal Revolutions: China, France and Russia

Need to have a knowledge of the past or other cultures to fully understand H-C studies

Historical-ComparativeOrganized along 3 dimensions:

Focus on one nation, small set of nations, or many nationsFocus on single time period or across many yearsFocus analysis based on quantitative or qualitative

Uses case-studies to elaborate historical processes and specify concrete historical details

Researchers focus on culture

Historical-ComparativeRelies on indirect evidence

Reconstructs what occurred from the evidence

Types of evidence:Primary: Archival data: found in museums, archives, libraries, private collectionsSecondary: What other historians have/are writingRunning-Record: Documentaries maintained by private or non-profit orgsRecollections: Autobiographies, memoirs, oral historieshttp://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/308/308lect09.htm

Historical-ComparativeStrengths:

Prevents “hero-worship”Creates understanding among outsidersRaises concerns about old explanations and finds support for new ones that are context specific

Weaknesses:Need to have a grasp of the past and about other cultures to be able to fully understand H-C studiesReconstructs the past, may be inaccurate

Any Questions?