[Air-l] re: ethnography

[Maximilian Forte]

So I just don't see the point of denying (as I feel Maximillian is) or
eliding (as I feel Don was) the power dynamic intrinsic in ethnographic
research (and other social research as Ed suggested).

I don't feel that I was denying power relations--I was actually expanding on
them. What I did say is that power relations are not just uni-directional,
except in simplistic and conspiratorial critiques that themselves deny a
voice to those whose experiences suggest something very different.

It all depends on what kind of indviduals and groups you are working with:
if they are hapless little children, then I could see why we would be
concerned about the presumed omnipotence of the ethnographer. If you are
working against such subjects, or with the aim of getting data and then
dumping them as soon as possible, then again I could see where research
subjects may be marginalized, excluded, etc--but they may also be very
relieved to be rid of you. They may also be realists and realize that
whatever is written about them in academia matters little because, after
all, reports buried in specialist journals can almost be considered
"private" discussions given the general population's lack of interest in
these publications. There is also ethnography in the action research mode,
strong forms of collaboration, etc., that simply make rubbish of the
sometimes overwrought critiques of ethnography.

The answers are not to be found in libraries "before you head out there":
it's a matter of not being too naive--we are not these overwhelmingly
important, omnipotent centres of the universe that we believe ourselves to
be, a view which is perhaps flattering to ourselves. I am concerned about
anyone thinking in patronizing or condescending terms of our so-called
informants, ignoring their own actual power. If one of the main questions
you ask yourself as researchers while engaged in field work is "am I an
oppressor" (instead of "am I a pawn"), then I would go as far as saying that
you are deluding yourself, or that you should quit the research and pick on
someone your own size :)

Cheers,

Dr Maximilian C. Forte
Assistant Professor in Anthropology
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
University College of Cape Breton
P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, NS, Canada, B1N 1A3
Tel: 902-563-1947
Fax: 902-563-1247
E-mail: max_forte at uccb.ca
Website: http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca/mforte/