Methods in cultural anthropology
Culture shock
profoundness feeling of alienation, confusion, sadness, loneliness, stress, powerlessness, insecurity, one experiences when found in a foreign culture - things are not as expected - lasts several weeks or months - happens to everyone - does not happen to tourists - idealization of home culture - negative feelings against foreign culture
Collection of life histories of older members of the group
provide a long term view of the culture under study - culture remains same or changes
Participant observation
the signature method of ethnographic fieldwork ethnographer learns culture by living within it and by participating in the daily activities fo the group Ex. involved in farming Mozambique (southeast Africa) participates as horn blower in Ghanan (west Africa)
Verbal interaction
"hi, how are you? what are you doing today?" - what keeps people busy from day to day to casual unstructured informal conversation - what people feel, think to interviews that revolve around specific questions - interviews provide comparable and quantifiable data and reveal rules and exceptions - talk to as many people as possible
Emic approach
Describes and explains specific practices and ideas from the natives' perspective Ex. catches a cold- exposure to cold environment or cold liquid
Etic approach
Describes and explains these same practices and ideas from a scientific perspective Ex. catches a cold- exposure to germs
Approaches used by ethnographers in the context of cultural analysis:
Emic approach Etic approach
Problem oriented ethnography
Nowadays most ethnographers enter the field w/ a specific topic to investigate. Ex. lesbian relationships
Ethnology
comparative study of culture thru data collected by ethnographers; no fieldwork
Reverse culture shock
culture shock experienced by travelers upon returning to their home countries - opposite of Nostalgia (missing something)
Direct, first-hand observation
ethnographer tries to be in as many contexts as possible and observe what people do, what they say, how they interact w one another etc Ex. attending weddings
Ethnographic methods
experimental methods used to study the ethnicity or culture of a group
Taking notes
field journal- write down everything, from things that look very important to things that look trivial - try to be as accurate as possible Personal diary- write down how you feel
longitudinal research
long term study of a culture through repeat visits - often involves teamwork Ex. 4 Zambian (south central Africa) villages have been studied by a team of ethnographers for the last 60 years - documents culture change
Work with key cultural consultants
people who are experts on their culture or a particular aspect of local life can provide ethnographer with a trove of information
genealogical method
recording of relations by blood or by marriage - genealogical trees- family trees - incest taboo
Cultural anthropology
studies contemporary cultures around the world 1. Ethnography 2. Ethnology
Ethnography
study of specific culture through fieldwork - book that results from ethnographic fieldwork
ethnographic fieldwork
the ethnographer goes where the subject of his/her reside and spends w them a substantial amt of time (12 mo) considered the right of passage to the profession of cultural anthropology
The primary ethical responsibility of the ethnographer while in the field is:
to cause no harm to the community under study
