Ethnography : a way of seeing / Harry F. Wolcott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolcott, Harry F., 1929-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology--Methodology.

Ethnology.

Ethnology--Fieldwork.

Physical Description:

xiii, 338 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Altamira Press, 2008.

Summary:

One of anthropology's leading writers on ethnographic methods, Harry F. Wolcott, discusses the fundamental nature of ethnographic studies. Tracing its development from its disciplinary origins in sociology and anthropology, he points out what is distinctive about ethnography and what it means to conduct research in the ethnographic tradition. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Wolcott distinguishes ethnography as more than just a set of field methods and practices, separating it from many related qualitative research traditions as "a way of seeing" through the lens of culture. For both beginning and experienced ethnographers in a wide range of disciplines, Wolcott's book will provide important ideas for improving research practice.

Contents:

Part 1 Where We've Been

1 Ethnography in the Good Old Days 11

2 Where in the World Do You Think You Are Going? 15

The Problem of Where? A Personal Account 16

In Place of Place 21

Keeping Ethnography in Perspective 28

A Watershed: Spradley and McCurdy's The Cultural Experience 32

Where Do You Think You Are Going? 36

Part 2 A Way of Looking and a Way of Seeing

3 Ethnography as a Way of Looking 43

Participant Observation-The Catch-All Label 46

Experiencing, Enquiring, and Examining 48

Experiencing: Distinguishing between Observers and Participant Observers 50

Enquiring: When Researchers Ask 54

Examining: Archival Strategies 62

The Appeal of an Ethnographic Approach to Research 65

4 Ethnography as a Way of Seeing 69

Ethnography as More Than Method 71

Following the Ethnographic Tradition in Anthropology 72

What Is an Ethnographic Question? 73

The Scale of the Ethnographic Project 76

Great Expectations or Mission Impossible? 79

On Finding Difference Enough 80

Attributing Culture 82

More Expectations 83

On Getting Enough Detail 84

A Cross-Cultural Perspective 88

Ethnography as Idiosyncratic 94

The Ethnographer's Task 95

Culture and Ethnography Under Siege 100

Part 3 Ethnographic Applications

5 Traditional Ethnography and Ethnographic Tradition 105

Ethnography by the Numbers 108

Replicating or Adapting an Existing Model 111

Combining Features from Several Models 115

Working from a Standard Plan 118

Proposing One's Own Set of Categories 121

Other Alternatives 126

The Introductory Text as Informal Field Guide 127

A Modular Approach 131

Getting a Start and Building On Later 132

Meeting Ethnographic Criteria the Low-Risk Way 133

6 Ethnography from Inside Out 137

How Critical Is "Difference" in Doing Ethnography? 139

Emic and Etic 141

Insiders and Outsiders 143

The Ethnographer Tells the Story of a People 145

The Anthropological Life History 150

Working with One Informant 156

The Ethnographer Helps People Tell Their Story 158

The Ethnographic Autobiography 159

The People Tell Their Own Story 160

The Difficulties with Native Ethnography 164

The Native Goes Anthropologist 169

Part 4 Ethnographic Matters

7 Hurried Ethnography for Harried Ethnographers 177

How Having Too Much Time Can Work Against the Ethnographer 178

Working Within Rigorous Time Constraints 181

Ethnographic Reconnaissance 187

Incorporating Ethnographic Reconnaissance as a Research Strategy 190

Systematic Data Collection 195

Stepwise Research 198

8 Ethnography's Many Faces 201

Ethnographic Fiction: The Don Juan Capers 202

Ethnographic Fiction: A Broader Look 206

Taking the "Ethnographic Approach" 208

Ethnographic Evaluation 209

An Attractive Appendage to Other Fields 210

Autoethnography 211

So Far 212

9 Does It Matter Whether or Not It's Ethnography? 215

Seven Reasons Why It Matters 217

Can You Do Ethnography Without Embracing the Culture Concept? 225

10 Ethnography as a Piece of Cake 227

Analogy to the Rescue, One More Time 230

Essential Ingredients and Ethnography 231

11 Writing with Culture 239

Cultural Patterning 244

Culture Revisited 246

A Piece of Cake? 252

12 Writing Ethnography 255

The Editing Process 260

Care and Feeding of Budding Authors 261

A Few Pointers on Writing 261

You and the Computer 262

Editing for Publication: Surprise, Surprise 263

End of the Line 264

13 Ethnography Matters: Looking Ahead, Looking Back 265

Ethnographic Futures and the Future of Ethnography 266

Ethnography in the Professional Career 271

Ethnography as Occupation and Preoccupation 277

Everybody an Ethnographer? 280

The "Ethics" Shadow 282.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-324) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780759111684

0759111685

9780759111691

0759111693

OCLC:

173807954