Synopses & Reviews
Ethnography begins and ends with people. Combining both theory and practice,
Doing Ethnography Today emphasises the ways that collaboration provides the foundation on which contemporary ethnography is built and sustained. An unconventional guide to doing ethnography, this book shows that ethnography is personal as well as collaborative, creative and artful rather than analytical or technical, and, oriented towards dynamic and complex ideas of culture and society, has within it the possibility for social change.
In-depth discussions of critical issues around contemporary practice are combined with exercises, which provide the opportunity to cultivate experience in ethnographic fieldwork, reading, and writing that explore collaborative possibilities for doing ethnography today. Coverage includes guidance on interview questions and selecting appropriate field equipment, while lists of suggested readings and websites offer additional resources on key subjects.
Review
“This wonderfully written text by two respected scholars fills a much needed space for doing field studies in contemporary times. The authors draw on their own experience in conducting collaborative ethnographies to provide theoretical and methodological guidance for both seasoned and neophyte researchers.” –
Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater, University of North Carolina, Greensboro“Changing purpose and collaborative practice are reshaping the ways in which ethnographers 'do' ethnography; this fine book shows not only how but also why ethnographic research is evolving.” – Graham Crow, University of Edinburgh
“Doing Ethnography Today is a book that practitioners, students, and teachers have been hoping to find for a long time. It represents a paradigm shift in understanding how ethnographies are created, and synthesizes the best practices of collaborative ethnography. Using it will give you a roadmap to create rigorous, ethical, and artful projects that can have important lives in the world.” – Rachel Breunlin, Neighborhood Story Project
Synopsis
Doing Ethnography Today explores the methodologies and theories behind contemporary, collaborative ethnography and provides an opportunity to cultivate experience with included exercises.
• Presents ethnography as creative and artful rather than analytical or technical
• Emphasises the collaborative nature of ethnography
• Structured exercises cultivate practical experience
• Includes a discussion on indexing and interpreting project materials
• Provides guidance on interview questions and selecting appropriate field equipment
About the Author
Elizabeth Campbell is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Marshall University's College of Education and Professional Development. Before moving to academe, she worked in community development as a folklorist, writer, and museum curator.
Luke Eric Lassiter is Professor of Humanities and Anthropology and Director of Marshall University's Graduate Humanities Program. His books include The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography (2005) and Invitation to Anthropology (4e, 2014). In 2007, he founded the journal Collaborative Anthropologies and served as its editor or co-editor until 2013.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction: Conceptualizing Ethnography
Ethnography is as Personal as it Gets
Ethnography is Collaborative
Ethnography is Hermeneutic
Ethnography is Creative and Constitutive
Ethnography Grapples with the Idea of Culture, however Deeply Compromised
Ethnography is Mostly Art
Exercise - Taking Stock: Exploring your Limits and Possibilities
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
2. Fields of Collaboration
The Field Today
On the Actual Complexities of Collaboration
Exercise - Engaging Collaborations and Creating Research Questions
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
3. Emergent Design
Exercise - Intentional Reciprocity
Uncertainty and the Collaborative Process
Ethics and Ethical Commitments
Exercise - Developing Project Codes of Ethics
Recognition or Anonymity?
Exercise - Ethics, IRBs, and Other Subjects
Issues of Authority: Ethnographer as Facilitator, Research Participant as Counterpart
Exercise - Revisiting Project Limits and Possibilities
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
4. Engagement: Participant Observation and Observant Participation
Exercise - One Scene, Many Positions
Participation
Interlude: Equipment Check
From Participant-Observation to Observant Participation
Fieldnotes: From Definitions, Meanings, and Practices to Storied Observations
Exercise - Developing Your Own (Fieldnotes) Style
On Fieldnote Forms
Exercise - Writing With
By Way of Conclusion . . .
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
5. Interviews and Conversations
Living with Interviews
Exercise - Issues for Interviews
The Changing Nature of Interviews
Exercise - Interviews as Conversations
Interviews (and Conversations) in Ethnographic Research
Exercise - Talking about Transcripts
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes
6. Inscriptions: On Writing Ethnography
Exercise - Making Sense of Materials
“What is Ethnography” Redux: On the Emergence of Contemporary Ethnographic Forms
Exercise - Writing Ethnography
Toward Collaborative Writing and Transformation
Exercise - Collaborative Writing
Suggested Readings
Suggested Websites
Notes