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Teaching Culture with Ethnographic Methods

Teaching Culture with Ethnographic Methods. Priscilla Stone Washington University. My “bona fides”. Typing fieldnotes in Nigeria. Common Misconceptions about Anthropological Research. Myth 1: Non-stop adventure!

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Teaching Culture with Ethnographic Methods

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  1. Teaching Culture with Ethnographic Methods Priscilla Stone Washington University

  2. My “bona fides” Typing fieldnotes in Nigeria

  3. Common Misconceptions about Anthropological Research Myth 1: Non-stop adventure! Reality: painstaking collection of data over long period of time

  4. Common Misconceptions about Anthropological Research Myth 2: Study of “primitive” societies Reality: interest in change, trans-national processes

  5. Common Misconceptions about Anthropological Research Myth 3: Unobtrusive observation with no impact on the society anthropologist Reality: Anthropologist become integrated in the communities they study, yet must remain detached to retain objectivity

  6. Implications for Student Research Myth 1: Not as glamorous as they thought Myth 2: Cultures they experience are fully modern Myth 3: They are not there very long

  7. So what’s a girl to do? Can still work on core methods and underlying assumptions of ethnography: • Participant Observation • Non-participant observation • Interviews (structured and unstructured) • Questionnaires

  8. Student work Homeless Architecture in Japan Methods: Library research, interviews, surveys, photographs and sketches Limitationsof time and access: 2 communities, 19 respondents to survey questionnaire, 4 interviews with help of interpreter Strengths: Multiple methods enlarged scope of project, interdisciplinary, respect for homeless people and their creativity What could we have done better?

  9. Student Work Contemporary Slavery in Brazil Methods: Field research including observations and interviews with former slaves and activists. Not allowed to interact with enslavers on a personal level! Limitations: Strong association with former slaves and cause of abolition of slavery.Little other research for background. Strengths: Critical perspective from colonial and postcolonial theory. Strong language skills and empathy for informants. What could we have done better?

  10. Lessons learned? Experience of others with student ethnographic research? Grand Conclusion!: Despite the limitations of undergraduate ethnography, the benefits are considerable, both in introducing our students to the complexity of contemporary cultures, as well as in their heightened ability and willingness to interact with and respect people who are very different from themselves.

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