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Reflexivity and ethnography
Reflexivity and ethnography
Reflexivity and ethnography
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Reflexivity
Anthropologists research and write. They participate and observe in order to produce ethnographies. While some anthropologists venture to “exotic” lands to study the “natives,” others conduct ethnographic research within their own culture. Despite the diverse cultures they examine and the use of a tape recorder instead of a pen and a notebook, the ethnographic process is virtually the same. Or is it? Although similarities between ethnographies exist, when it comes down to it, ethnographies differ from one anthropologist to the next and one culture to the next based on the writing techniques applied by the ethnographer, the position of the anthropologist (age, gender, class, culture), and his or her life experiences. Some ethnographers use reflexivity, a writing tool that personalizes ethnography as the anthropologist writes about his/herself in the work. In a reflexive ethnography, the anthropologist positions his/herself in relation to the examined culture and writes about his/her ethnographic experience, an experience which hopefully bridged the gap between the anthropologist’s culture and studied culture, converting the “outsider” status of the anthropologist to an “insider” position. Reflexivity allows the ethnographer to show how and why it is that he/she empathizes with a culture and to allow the audience an opportunity to identify with a culture that is not his/her own. Ultimately, reflexivity conveys the importance to acknowledge the similarities and differences that exist between cultures.
In a reflexive ethnography, anthropologists locate their position in another culture and outline their experiences inside and outside of the examined culture. George E. Marcus describes reflexivity as “the practice of positioning” (Marcus 198).
Reflexivity “locates the ethnographer . . . his or her literal position in relation to subjects” (Marcus 197-198). In other words, reflexivity conveys to the audience that the ethnographer “was there.” In most cases the ethnographer uses phrases such as, “I realized,” or, “I examined,” or simply “I.” This declaration of first-hand cultural knowledge grants the ethnographer authority to write about and understand a culture because he/she participated and observed the culture in action. Renato Rosaldo writes about positioning and the authority it gives him to write about the Ilongot tribe. In “Grief and a Headhunter’s Rage,” he writes, “The ethnographer, as a positioned subject, grasps certain human phenomena better than others. He or she occupies a position or structural location and observes with a particular angle of vision .
As a scholar invested in the progression of the field of Native American material cultural studies, I consistently recondition my understanding of both epistemology and the appropriate ways to approach cultural circumstances of the so-called “Other” through personal encounters and the shared experiences of my contemporaries. My own ethical position is forever fluid, negotiated by both Native and non-Native sources as I attempt to find ground in what exactly I intend to do (outside of an occupation) with the knowledge I accumulate. Perhaps the most vulnerable facet of existence in the world of academia is the ease that comes in the failure to compromise one’s own advancement for the well-being of those being studied. Barre Toelken is an encouraging exception to this conundrum, considering his explicit analysis of both Navajo and Western ethics in the case of the Hugh Yellowman tapes. His essay argues for an approach that surrenders the fieldworker’s hypothetical gain to the socio-emotional needs of subjects’ epistemological structure and, most intriguingly, he treats ethnographic materials as praxis rather than data. After years of apprehension with the objectifying habits of cultural anthropology, a discipline internally dithered by the bickering of Science vs. Humanities, I am finally moved to disengage from such authoritatively based methods altogether as a result of Toelken’s example.
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Austria-Hungary, he was the fourth of six children. After his father retired the family was moved to Linz, Austria. Adolf was good in school up until he reached high school. His father Alois was not pleased with the way Adolf preformed in school and always had wanted Adolf to become a civil servant and pressured him to do so. However, he had always had a passion for art and when his father died in 1903, he dropped out of high school and spent his days drawing, reading, and daydreaming. At the age of 20, Hitler decided to move to Vienna in hopes of pursuing his dream of becoming an artist. He applied to two different art schools, and unfortunately was denied from both. Shortly after being denied his mother passed away from cancer. This had huge impacts on his life. He later wrote, “The death of my mother put a sudden end to all my high-flown plans. It was a dreadful blow, particularly for me. I had honored my father, but my mother I had loved. “
That August Hindenburg died, and Hitler immediately made himself leader of the German nation. He soon began to strike at surrounding territories, thus World War II began. We’ve seen the horror of the war in movies, books, and pictures. Though I had never once heard Hitler’s story from boyhood, or his experiences in Vienna, or his first political stand until I took it upon myself to learn more. You never know what you’ll find digging a little deeper into the stories of the past.
Hitler saw that most of Germany didn’t fit this picture at all, so he decided to solve it in one of the most awful ways possible. The mass murder, or Holocaust of over six million Jews, and long with the innocent Blacks, Gays, Gypsies, and both physically and mentally Handicapped. He mostly targeted the Jewish because in World War II, the Jewish was the main reason why Germany lost in World War II. This mass murder lasted over years and years of murder, forced lab...
The Return to Laughter is a fictionalized account by Elenore Smith Bowen about her experiences with the Tiv culture in Africa. It describes her struggles to learn and understand the local culture and beliefs, and juxtaposes her own conflicts, morals and beliefs. Bowen engages in what anthropologists termed participant-observation. The anthropologist made a few mistakes that provided revelations about herself and the Tiv people. Language difficulties provide the greatest barrier: as when the researcher is trying to understand the context of the conversation, while still struggling with the intricacy of a difficult language. Secondly, like most anthropologists Bowen knew that social relationships are a research requirement: informants are needed, yet she quickly realized that identification with one family, status or group in the society could hinder other critical relationships. These lessons are among a few that the anthropologist seeks to overcome. This essay will discuss that culture and language are dependent on each other and how forming social relationships can propel research and reveal insightful knowledge into a culture, while possibly hindering other useful information.
The first theme this article relates to cultural anthropology is emic vs. etic. Emic basically means the insider’s view while etic basically means the outsider’s view; this...
When an ethnographer examines a group of people, she is influenced by her position and understanding of her own culture. Before an ethnographer even begins her research, her opinion is effecting the process of selecting a topic. For instance, Anthropology’s most commonly known researcher Bronslow Malinowsky wrote the Argonauts of the Western Pacific. He did not choose to study a culture similar to his own because of the interest he had in the ‘exotic’. His preferences told him to pick a more remote group of people, the Trobriand Islanders. There has been a history of choosing the opposite of the Anthropologists own culture. Reflexivity is the use of one’s experiences to examine a culture. It is my argument that this reflexivity is necessary in the process of writing Ethnographies.
Reflexivity emphasizes the point of theoretical and practical questioning, changing the ethnographers view of themselves and their work. There is an increased awareness of the collection of data and the limitation of methodological systems. This idea becomes inherent in the postmodernists study of the culture of the anthropologist/ethnographer. In much of his essay, Marcus shows that reflexivity is an immense area of comment and interest by questioning: Is reflexivity a license or a method? Furthermore, he writes that reflexivity opens up “the possibility for the so-called polyphonic text or the completely collaborative project, but more often than not, it merely reinforces the perspective and voice of the lone, introspective fieldworker without challenging the paradigm of ethnographic research at all (Marcus 193).
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.
It analyzes similarities and differences in various cultures and societies. Culture is learned and affects our perception of the world throughout our life. Overtime, a sense of cultural superiority is formed amongst individuals who are constantly exposed to their own culture. Anthropology can help eliminate culturally based biases, also known as ethnocentrism. It is a common practice we all in engage in when evaluating other cultures, however, by practicing anthropology this allows us to learn about other cultures by placing themselves into the cultural environment allows us to learn the traditions and customs by experience. Marjorie Shostak`s study of the !Kung people revealed that they organized themselves differently than Western cultures, which included solving conflicts with discussion, communal behavior, and basic living traditions. Moreover, by interviewing and living in this cultural environment, Shostak was able to empathize with the !Kung people and she also considered that all humans share an emotional life, which is important when studying the history of our human
One form of ethnographic design are realist ethnographies that are characterized by their focus on remaining objective, abstaining from judgment and simply presenting the facts as witnessed during the collection of data (Creswell, 2008). Writing objectively about the human interactions within a cultural group help researc...
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
Reflexivity refers to how a researcher and their own inter-subjectivity can shape and even transform their chosen research (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003). Thus reflexivity is intrinsically linked to the 'trustworthiness ' of research itself (Mauthner & Doucet, 2003). Furthermore the notion of reflexivity is also linked to the social constructionism in that it account for the researchers own role in co-constructing the knowledge garnered through their research. To contribute to the trustworthiness of one 's research or study the researcher needs to acknowledge their own internal thought processes, preconceptions, etc (elements of own their subjectivity) and how they may have affected the outcome of their research project (Mauthner
A reflex pathway, or a reflex arc, is a neural pathway that is involved in the activation of a reflex. Reflexes are reactions that respond to stimuli. They usually happen without the sensory neurons having to pass directly through the brain. Therefore, reflexes are called involuntary reactions since they happen without a command. This allows the reflex action to occur quickly because the electrical signal can be sent to the spinal cord immediately without needing to go through the brain. The brain receives sensory input as the action occurs, but not before. The human body has lots of reflex pathways. However, if a disruption occurs in these pathways, the person most likely has a certain kind of neurological disorder that will make the person
First Aid is the initial care for an illness or injury. First Aid is usually performed in emergency situations by a non-professional person. First Aid can be performed on animals although it is generally meant for the care of humans. Going back to the beginning of the practice of First Aid, it was first practiced by the religious knights in the Eleventh Century. Care was provided to the Pilgrims and Knights as well as training on how to care for common battle wounds. Aid came to a halt during the High Middle Ages and organizations were not seen again until 1859. A few years later, a few nations met in Geneva and formed what we know to be the Red Cross. The main purpose of the Red Cross was to give Aid to the sick and wounded soldiers during battle. In 1878, the formation of St. John Ambulance was put into effect. The ambulance was generally for aid to people in emergencies. Large railway centers, mining districts and police forces were the first to pair with ambulances. Also in 1878 the concept of teaching First Aid to civilians was announced. Surgeon-Major Peter Shepherd and Dr. Coleman performed the first First Aid class with a curriculum that they had formed. First Aid training began to grow in the UK with high risk activities.