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Symbolic interactionism essays
Symbolic interactionism essays
Symbolic interactionism essays
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1. What do EFS argue about “objectivity”? What is the goal of “ethnographic participation? Filed researchers should be in the center of the lives of those are being studied in order to be able to observe and understand them better. “The ethnographer seeks deeper immersion in others worlds in order to grasp what they experience as meaningful and important” (EFS 2) to do that researcher must be at the scene and live the same experience from the first hand and observe at the same time. Each study may require different living conditions and different sills to be able to live those conditions and ethnographers should learn to be associate of that particular group that will be studied and learn the necessary skills to be involved at the activities. “In learning about others through active participation in their lives and activities, the field worker cannot and should not attempt to be fly on the wall” (EFS 3). That means fieldworkers should be known as researcher at the scene that they are working. EFS argue that field researchers cannot be detached they should be at the scene and be engaged. EFS argues that field workers should be unbiased and not be prejudiced. Field …show more content…
According to Esterberg interpretive approaches in social research are closely related to a theoretical tradition called symbolic interactionism which rests on three premises. First is that humans act toward things based on the meaning s those things have for them. Second is that meanings of things arise out of social interaction and the thirds is that meanings are created. Interpretive tradition assumes that researchers need to begin by examining the empirical world which means immersing themselves in the word inhabited by those they wish to study (16) bunt unlike naturalistic perspective they don’t go to inside the worlds of their
The type of research conducted often depends on the epistemology of the researcher. Epistemology is considered the justification of knowledge; it is about the relationship between the researcher, knowledge, and how knowledge is created (Carter...
Field work is the hands on component to anthropology. The person will immerse themselves in the culture that they will study. These people must pay attention to every little thing that happens while there. It is important for the ethnographer to stay a little over a year in order to experience things they missed while they were in culture shock (page 42). They must adapt to the natives way of life and stop see the thing they do as something alien and see it as a part of their culture. Although the studier will be an alien in the culture they are in, they must try to live and immerse themselves in the way the locals live. Anthropologist Marjorie Shostak formed personal relationships with their cultural consultants. Shostak worked with the !Kung San in the Dobe region of southwest Africa, on the border between Botswana and South Africa (page 41). Field work must be done in order to really study the culture that is of
Ethnography is a research method used to explore different cultures from a personal view. Many anthropologists have sought to use ethnography as their main study method because of its specificity and opportunity to get hands on. Those that participate in ethnographies are expected to accurately record detailed accounts of the society in which they are staying, but at the same time maintain a critical distance.
DeWalt, Kathleen M. & DeWalt, Billie R. (2002). Participant observation: a guide for fieldworkers. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
For instance, it is mainly designed to understand the subjective aspects of human experience. Interpretivism revolves around giving meaning to human behavior with the exclusion of logic as the source of reasoning. As a matter of fact, theories developed within the interpretive paradigm essentially derive from meticulous situations with profound reliance on subjective experiences. Therefore, it is an inductive philosophy that starts with individuals to develop an understanding of the world around them through interpretations. These interpretations are often implemented through the comparison of realities occurring in differing contexts; such as time and place. Interpretivism, then, acknowledges the differences that characterize human experiences through a detailed examination. Hence, this allows the establishment of varied and multifaceted theories that take into account the existence of diversity among particular
Human being spend much time observing the world in which they live in. observing the world is something were familiar with is just that we have not considered it as a way of doing formal research. Observation does not just involve vision, it includes interpretation of that same date, it’s not just recording of data from environment we observe, we are active our brains are engaged as well as our eyes and ears. In a social gathering where you don’t know people researcher can adopt participant observation where she has two roles to play that is being an observer and participant. In a hospital a nurse can pretend to be a patient in other to be admitted into the ward to enable her obtain adequate information because informant
I emphasize here the collusion between all parties involved, for it is important to recognize the ways in which informmants are also actors and agents, and that the negotiation of reality that takes place in the doing of ethnography involves complex and shifting relations of power in which the ethnographrapher acts and is also acted upon. (Kondo 75)
It requires living, breathing, acting and becoming a part of the community that you are studying. There are various aspects of a community that you can be a part of, for example, cooking, rituals, ceremony, celebration, survival methods, sleeping accommodations and general activities that the group takes part in – which can vary from our own customs and norms. “The reason for the continuation of fieldwork in participant observation, broadly understood, derives to a great extent from the fact that such fieldwork is distinguishing and defining feature of social anthropology; however else anthropology could be defined, to do anthropology meant to study a specific community through long term participant observation.” (Ellen & Firth, 1984: pg. 17) It is not unlikely to have to prepare your sleeping area for the conditions over night, such as bugs. You will have to live like they do, there is most likely no 5-star resort waiting for you when you are off the clock, so you will live like the community has to. You might also get the chance to learn how they cook there, or (at least) you will have to eat their local food – again, no cheeseburgers waiting for you after
...ion, to help their subject as with Chagnon and Kaobawä; this could be something as minimal as offering a ride to providing financial rewards for their help. However, this may raise the ethical question of involving oneself in a situation and its effect on the study. Moreover, as demonstrated by Sterk, engaging the subject in a two-way dialogue – as opposed to a formal, questionnaire-based conversation – usually proves beneficial for the study because it lets the subject feel like they have something substantial to offer, like an opinion that is valued. Another aspect that I found intriguing in Sterk’s case is removing oneself from the field; an anthropologist must be able to find a balance to not let emotional baggage of a case interfere with their own life but keeping a specific part of it to emotionally engage with the subject during the process of the research.
Not only this, but anthropologists will also employ Ethnography, writing down a description and analysis, based upon the fieldwork. This helps keep a record of what was learned, while also keeping the culture being studied under its own viewpoint. These factors help impact the analysis of a culture, while still being observed under a cultural relativism outlook.
This assumption of the researcher and the subject working from similar frameworks can be problematic in certain research situations. (Pelto & Pelto, 1970), but the field of anthropology is informant focused. Cognitive anthropology, defined as “the study of how peoples of different cultures acquire information about the world (cultural transmission), how they process that information and reach decisions, and how they act on that information in ways that other members of their culture consider appropriate” (Bernard, 1988, p. 226), takes ethnography to a deeper level. Not only is culture observation happening, but people’s thoughts, behaviors, and the meanings attached to these are also examined (Weller & Romney, 1988). In the discipline, this is known as the emic approach which means that “the people’s definition of meaning, their idea systems, are seen as the most important ‘causes’ or explanations for behavior” (Pelto & Pelto, 1970, p. 62). On the other hand, an etic perspective runs the risk of the researcher imposing their expectations or assumptions on the informants. This research will utilize a combination of the two in order to better assess cultural models and what they mean for future
Participation is also a crucial part of fieldwork, as it creates bonds and deepens the fieldwork through emotional involvement. McHugh managed to achieve the first two elements by participating and quietly observing, proving how necessary it is during fieldwork. She makes an exemplary effort to stick to the ethnographic commitments of an anthropologist, shown by how she embraces the different dress code and how she is eager to engage herself in the public activities. Fieldwork isn’t just about describing the details of people’s lives, but also analysing them to find out why people do the things that their culture has conditioned them to do
Interpretive perspective says that the social world is created in an ongoing manner, via social interaction. How do we relate to each other on a day-to-day basis? It focuses upon micro-level.
Shaffir, W. (1986). In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research/Ethnographic Research: A Guide to General Conduct (Book). Sociology of Health & Illness, 8 (2).
In conclusion, ethnographic fieldwork makes cultural anthropology unique as compared to another discipline. It defines cultural anthropology as holism in that is it studies the holistic behaviour of humans and how they interrelate with certain events. The study takes the form of observation by participation and cross-cultural