anthropolgy: enthography

ethnography

in depth study of everyday practices and lives of people

Ethnographic techniques

• participant observation

• conversation, interviewing and interview schedules

• genealogical method

• key cultural consultants

• life histories

• problem-oriented research

• longitudinal research

emic perspective

insiders point of view

etic perspective

outsiders point of view

participant observation

the hallmark method of anthropology. We do not just observe other people in our attempts to understand them. We join in. only then can we move closer to their experience and understand with depth and detail emphasis on personal relationships

• bronislaw Malinowski, 1922

seeing our own seeing

• discovering how the way you see the world affects how you see the world

• essentially understanding how your own background shapes your interpretation of what you observe,

seeing big

• Looking at the big picture

• understanding the larger cultural, social, economic, historical, and political forces that shape our everyday lives. This means looking beyond our own individual experiences and seeing how our lives are shaped by larger systems and structures.

seeing small

paying close attention to details and understanding their significance. It's a way of seeing beyond the surface level of things and understanding the deeper meanings and implications

seeing it all

holistic perspective, which means taking a broad view to understand a culture by considering all aspects of a society, including its social structure, economics, beliefs, practices, and environment, as interconnected parts of a whole system; essentially, "seeing the big picture" by looking beyond individual elements to grasp the complex relationships between them

Communication, Empathy, and Thoughtfulness as tools in the anthropologist’s toolkit

as out empathy improves we can communicate better and improve our thoughtfulness and as out thoughtfulness improves we are better able to imagine out way into their perspective (empathy) and communicate more clearly with them