Anthropology: Fieldwork, Power, and Methods
Ethnocentrism, politics, and the ethnographer's position
Anthropologists often overlooked how dominant powers protect them and shape their understanding of other societies; early work described others’ practices as quaint rather than political or strategic.
Ethnocentrism: viewing other cultures through the lens of one’s own culture and power structures; politics is the function of power in society. Power is not inherently good or bad; it is the capacity to bring about change.
Power operates in social action and is embedded in social institutions; it shapes who has access to resources, education, and knowledge.
History, history-less societies, and the ethnographic present
Histories of societies differ from Western assumptions of continuous, linear progress.
Ethnographic present: many early ethnographies described other societies in the present tense (e.g., “the people are a tribe living on the island … when it rains, they do this”) as if that was their unchanging state.
The danger: presenting other peoples as unchanging, natural forces rather than dynamic, changing communities with histories and politics.
Colonial perspectives often erased or downplayed history; colonial powers misinterpreted social organization and change, e.g., massive kingdoms or monumental earthworks in Africa often neglected in earlier accounts.
Cargo cults in the South Pacific illustrate how power and revolutionary movements can be misread when one assumes a culture is static or apolitical.
Power politics are integral to social life; societies can be revolutionary or organized around resistance when power is understood (e.g., cargo cults embedded in Marxist movements).
Power, domination, and social stratification
Power is neutral; it can be used for constructive or destructive purposes; it is the potential to create social change.
Stratified societies have layered power structures (a small top layer with the most power, larger lower layers).
Stratification is visible in-materially (goods/resources) and non-materially (education, language, knowledge of the arts).
Researchers often encountered powerful elites who controlled access to information; fieldwork could be biased toward elites’ perspectives.
Some societies have little to no stratification; others show deep divisions in gender, ethnicity, race, etc., with power embedded in institutions.
Institutions (education, family, religion) reproduce power/dominance and can sustain social stratification through access and denial of opportunities.
Education as a key mechanism: access or denial to education reinforces class and opportunity; wealthier communities often have better schooling and smoother paths to higher education and employment.
Education also shapes citizenship and political engagement; debates around curriculum reflect broader power struggles and hegemonic goals.
Hegemony and race as social constructs
Hegemony: cultural dominance where a powerful elite influences the values and norms so that those who are governed behave in ways that support the status quo, often without coercion.
The idea of race in the United States is historically contingent, not ancient; during the Bacon’s Rebellion era (late 17th century), laws began to formalize racial distinctions to divide poor whites from Africans, solidifying white supremacy and hereditary slavery.
The creation of race-based categories helped elites maintain control by aligning workers along racial lines, despite shared poverty.
Race and hierarchy persist through social norms, education, legal structures, and cultural practices; these norms can be challenged, showing human agency within structural constraints.
Agency, resistance, and “weapons of the weak”
Agency: individuals can act within and against structures; cultures are not monolithic or completely deterministic.
Resistance can be large-scale (revolution, assassinations) or small-scale (personal acts, language tricks, subversive humor).
James C. Scott’s concept of “weapons of the weak” describes daily acts that resist dominant power, even when outgunned.
Examples of resistance and agency:
Cakewalk: a form of quiet resistance where enslaved people imitated their enslavers’ dances, with a prize (cake) for winners; it mocked elites while maintaining some social order.
Subversive language, double meanings, graffiti, and symbolic acts that communicate dissent.
Protests and public expressions (e.g., large-scale political demonstrations or ritualized performances) as acts of resistance against power structures.
Modern examples: protests against ICE policies, using art and performance to challenge powerful institutions; slowdowns, sick-outs, and other non-traditional strikes as forms of labor resistance.
Fieldwork and research approaches
Two broad research orientations:
Quantitative (quant): surveys, counting, statistics; examples include political opinion polls and sample-size considerations.
Qualitative (qual): observations, interviews, participation; emphasis on descriptive, interpretive understanding.
Quantitative research in anthropology
Driven by surveys and sampling; aims to generalize from a sample to a population.
Example: political polls claim to predict election results if the sample is representative and large enough.
Pitfalls and biases in survey methods:
Landline bias: many surveys historically relied on landlines, skewing toward older populations who may lean conservative.
Shopping mall or specific-location samples may not be representative of the broader population; small or biased samples can mislead.
Question design bias: leading questions can push respondents toward particular answers; careful wording is essential to avoid bias.
The distinction between sociology and anthropology in methods: sociology often leans more toward quantitative methods; anthropology emphasizes qualitative fieldwork though both fields use mixed methods.
Qualitative research in anthropology
Based on observation, interviews, and participant observation; aims to describe and interpret lived experiences.
Strengths: depth, context, and nuance; captures meanings and cultural processes that numbers alone cannot.
Challenges:
Building rapport and trust with communities is essential for access and honesty.
Fieldwork can be destabilizing; researchers must negotiate ethical concerns and avoid manipulation.
Field sites may be wary due to historical exploitation; consent and benefits must be clear.
Rapport and collaboration:
Often involves one or two key informants who become essential collaborators; some researchers credit collaborators as co-authors.
Increased use of polyvocality: incorporating multiple voices from the community to enrich interpretation and reduce the observer’s bias.
Emic vs Etic (emic vs etic) approaches:
Emic (interpretive, insider’s view): focus on how people in the culture understand themselves; emphasizes meaning, symbolism, and lived experience.
Etic (descriptive, outsider’s view): researcher’s framework to compare across cultures; emphasizes structural and functional explanations.
Reflexivity: researchers acknowledge their own position, biases, and feelings in relation to what they study; helps readers understand how findings are constructed.
Field notes and ethical considerations:
Anonymity and consent are central; sensitive data may require pseudonyms and destruction of raw data to protect participants.
Historical examples: lack of consent or misrepresentation led to distrust (e.g., Zuni example); contemporary ethics emphasize collaboration and benefit to the studied community.
Ethnographic data and methods
Life history: interviewing a person repeatedly to reconstruct their life story, including childhood, rites of passage, and life course events; provides insight into social life and how individual experiences connect to broader cultural patterns.
Network mapping (social network analysis): tracing who each person interacts with and how those interactions form the broader social network; useful in urban settings to map millions of relationships.
Kinship studies: analyzing family relationships, terms of address, and relatedness to understand social organization and obligations; kin terms can reveal social roles and structures.
Mapping and spatial data: linking social life to physical space and territory; sacred places, land use, and territorial boundaries reveal how people relate to their environment and identity.
Example: Wisdom Sits in Places – mapping sacred places to defend them in court; geography reflects enculturation and gendered mobility (men’s more frequent landscape movement).
Places can be defined by stories, myths, or events, not just physical features; space is embedded with cultural meaning.
Ethical principles in anthropology
Core ethical principles (AAA code of ethics):
1) Do no harm: researchers must avoid causing harm to participants; consider potential long-term consequences.
2) Informed consent: participants should understand the purpose of data collection, its uses, and have the option to withdraw.
3) Anonymity and protection of identities: balancing recognition of contributors with the need to protect them from potential harm; use of pseudonyms or data destruction when necessary.Ethical tensions arise when studying sensitive topics (e.g., slavery, exploitation, illicit economies) where publication could put people at risk.
Historical shifts: early fieldworkers sometimes took gifts or used coercive tactics; modern ethics stress collaboration, mutual benefit, and credit for community informants.
Anonymity vs credit: crediting collaborators can empower communities; however, protecting individuals may require disguising or omitting identifying details.
Writing and representation in anthropology
Emic and etic perspectives influence how findings are written and interpreted.
Reflexivity in writing: the author includes statements about their own perspective and the research process to enhance transparency and credibility.
Polyvocality and collaboration challenge the traditional single-author voice; acknowledging multiple voices strengthens validity and ethics.
Data interpretation and examples from fieldwork
The Ring (Malinowski): a closed economy with exchange rules among islands; women’s roles in certain economies may be underrepresented in classic works.
Weiner’s corrective: interviewing women in the Trobriand Islands revealed female economic activities (funerary skirts, trade in women’s crafts) that Malinowski did not document; this showed the importance of including women’s voices to avoid silences in history.
The shift toward polyvocality does not negate classic works but expands understanding by including previously silenced perspectives.
Types of data and fieldwork techniques (summary list)
Life history: birth to present in-depth narrative; reveals life cycles and how individuals interpret events.
Network mapping: who you interact with and how those networks link to others; helps understand social structure and community organization.
Kinship studies: genealogical relations, terms of address, and obligations; reveals social organization and status.
Spatial mapping: land use, sacred places, and the relationship between people and place; ties to identity and history.
Data collection and ethics: informed consent, do no harm, anonymity; collaboration and credit to community members; reflexive writing.
Emic vs Etic: insider interpretation vs outsider structural description; both perspectives are valuable and complementary.
Reflexivity and collaboration: acknowledge biases; include community voices; co-authorship.
Methods in practice: fieldwork often requires long-term presence, building trust, and negotiating access; researchers must adapt to local norms and contexts.
Practical takeaways for fieldwork preparation
Be aware of ethnocentrism and its impact on research design and interpretation.
Recognize that history and politics shape societies; avoid treating cultures as unchanging "present" to the observer.
Understand power dynamics and how institutions reproduce stratification; consider gender, race, class, and ethnicity in analysis.
Emphasize agency and resistance, including everyday acts and forms of expression.
Choose appropriate data methods (quantitative vs qualitative) and design studies to minimize bias; design questions carefully to avoid leading responses.
Build rapport and trust; involve key informants and collaborators; acknowledge and credit local voices.
Incorporate reflexivity and polyvocality in writing; balance insider and outsider perspectives.
Apply ethical standards: do no harm, obtain informed consent, protect anonymity when needed; be transparent about data use and potential risks.
Use life histories, network mapping, kinship studies, and spatial mapping to build a comprehensive, nuanced understanding of cultures.
Remember that data interpretation is iterative; historical context and contemporary implications should inform analysis and conclusions.
Key terms to remember
Ethnocentrism, power, politics, and power as relational capability
Ethnographic present, natural history museum critique
Cargo cults, Marxist revolutionary linkages
Hegemony and consensus building
Stratification, social institutions (education, family, religion)
Agency, resistance, and weapons of the weak
Cakewalk, Kate Walton anecdote
Fieldwork: quantitative vs qualitative; rapport; core data collection methods
Key informant, collaborator, polyvocality, co-authorship
Emic vs etic (interpretive vs descriptive)
Reflexivity
Life histories, network mapping, kinship studies, land/space mapping
Ethics: do no harm, informed consent, anonymity