Unit 4 – Theory and Methods in Cultural Anthropology

Outline Ethnography: Anthropology’s Distinctive Strategy Ethnographic Techniques Observation and Participant Observation Conversation, Interviewing, and Interview Schedules The Genealogical Method Key Cultural Consultants Life Histories Local Beliefs and Perceptions, and the Ethnographer’s Problem-Oriented Ethnography Longitudinal Research Team research Culture, Space, and Scale Survey Research Anthropology Today

What Ethnographers Do http://youtu.be/nV0jY5VgymI

Ethnography: Anthropology’s Distinctive Strategy Developed as anthropologists studied small, homogenous communities Adopted a free-ranging strategy for gathering information Moves place-to-place, person-to-person to discover interconnections of social life Provides a foundation for generalizations about human behavior and social life

Ethnographic Techniques Use several, not all, of the following techniques Participant observation Interviews Genealogical method Work with key consultants of the community Life histories Discovery of local beliefs Problem-oriented research Longitudinal research Team research

Observation and Participant Observation Must pay attention to hundreds of details of daily life, seasons events, and unusual happenings. Many anthropologists experience culture shock Most anthropologists stay in the field for at least a year to make up for anything missed then

Even Anthropologists Get Culture Shock Read the article and write a one page reflection What do you think of the idea of anthropologists getting culture shock? What do you think it would be like to study another culture?

Observation and Participant Observation Many ethnographers keep a personal diary and field notes Ethnographers must establisher rapport with their hosts and contacts

Conversation, Interviewing, and Interview Schedules Constantly talking to locals and asking questions Have to learn the local language and as learn language and local culture, understand more Phases of language acquisition Naming Understanding simple conversations Rapid-fire public discussions and group conversations

Conversation, Interviewing, and Interview Schedules Complete household interview Set questions on printed form Included basic information on each family member, diet, etc Tried to interview entire population Talks face-to-face, asks questions, ethnographer fills in answers

Conversation, Interviewing, and Interview Schedules Pros of interview schedule Meet almost everyone Creates rapport Created information leads to follow later Creates both quantitative and qualitative information

Genealogical Method Genealogical method – use diagrams and symbols to record kin connections Many non-industrial societies use kinship for social status Using symbols help ethnographers to reconstruct history and understand social circles

Key Cultural Consultants Key cultural consultant: expert on a particular aspect of local life Also called key informants Important for gathering information about specific parts of the tribe May be only survivor of epidemic Only midwife in town

Life Histories When find someone unusually interesting, collect their life history. Life history: of a key consultant; personal portrait of someone’s life in a culture Different perspectives and interpretations of important events

Story Corps – Small Life Histories http://storycorps.org/

Local Beliefs and Perceptions and the Ethnographer’s Ethnographer’s perspective usually different from native Use two approaches – emic and etic Emic – research strategy emphasizing on local explanations and meanings Etic – research strategy emphasizing the ethnographer’s explanations and categories

Problem-Oriented Ethnography Most ethnographers go in with a specific problem to research Use data from local people and other factors such as population density and environment

Longitudinal Research Longitudinal research –long-term study of a community, region, society, or culture, or other unit, usually based on repeated visits Allows for long-term research and impacts on areas. Many times it becomes team research with many anthropologists studying the same areas and peoples

Culture, Space, and Scale More and more the world is interconnected and places cannot be studied in isolation anymore

Should Anthropologists Study Terrorism? Read the article Write a one page reflection Should anthropology be used by the government to help with security concerns? Is submitted anthropological data to government officials unethical?

Survey Research Survey research – study of society through sampling, statistical analysis, and impersonal data collection

Survey Research vs Ethnography Ethnography (traditional) Survey Research Studies whole, functioning communities Studies a small sample of a larger population Usually is based on firsthand fieldwork, during which information is collected after rapport, based on personal contact, is established between researcher and hosts Often is conducted with little or no personal contact between study subjects and researchers, as interviews are frequently conducted by assistants over the phone or in printed form Traditionally is interested in all aspects of social life (holistic) Usually focuses on a small number of variables (e.g., factors that influence voting) rather than on the totality of people’s lives Traditionally has been conducted in nonindustrial, small-scale societies, where people often do no read and write Normally is carried out in modern nations, where most people are literate, permitting respondents to fill in their own questionnaires Makes little use of statistics, because the communities being studied tend to be small, with little diversity besides that based on age, gender, and individual personality variation Depends heavily on statistical analyses to make inferences regarding a large and diverse population, based on data collected from a small subset of the population

Anthropology Today Many campuses lack representation of all subfields With the world becoming smaller, traditional ethnography is fading away AAA now has multiple subgroups to different identities and focuses

Test Tomorrow Short test tomorrow on What is anthropology Ethnographic research