ANTH 233 Ethnographic Studies
Winter 2019
I acknowledge that St FX is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.
Jan 14, 17, 21, 24: Writing, from classical to contemporary ethnography, to other forms of writing
January 17: An example of contemporary ethnography. Compare this
presentation of ethnographic material, the role of the ethnographer,
and the type of subjects with those of Evans-Pritchard. Notice how this
author is in conversation with other authors.
READ: Nolan,
Kathleen. 2018. “‘I’m a Kid from the Bronx’: a Reflection on the
Enduring Contributions of Willis’s Cultural Production Perspective in
Learning to Labour.” Ethnography 19(4): 464–478.
- apply ideas from the different perspectives of Howell, Ingold and Kolshus to Nolan’s writing
- how did she gather her information? Was this “ethnographic fieldwork” according to Howell?
- what do we know about how she prepared for fieldwork?
- is this writing “ethnographic” in the sense that Howell, Ingold or Kolshus variously define this?
- is this work comparative?
- is this work culturally relative?
- is this work with or of the people she studies?
- is the writing accessible?
- features of the writing:
- voice
- authoritative representation
- engagement with literature
- theory
- how is the population described in terms of homogeneity/heterogeneity?
- is the society described as dynamic or static?
- what is the role of over-arching political, legal, economic,
cultural (etc.) structures within which this society is placed? How
isolated/separate is it from other societies?
- what is the relationship of this work with respect to policy?
- what is the positionality of the author?