Ethnographic Artifacts

Ethnographic Artifacts: Challenges to a Reflexive Anthropology examines anthropological practice and product, confronting issues of representation and the power of discourse in the lives and practice of both those doing research and of those being researched. Using eight case studies by ethnographers who share extensive research experience in the Pacific, the volume outlines "the trouble with ethnography" so representative of the end of this century, where ethnography itself is perceived as a codification of contested relations. Ethnographic Artifacts takes a unique approach to the social life of ethnography. The editors identify three domains in which ethnographic artifacts are given meaning: as text, as object, and as a historically contrived representation of the community in the public sphere. By allowing that analysis of the life of ethnography is important in all three of these domains, appreciation moves beyond narrow rhetorical and textual concerns. The volume provides a multi-faceted means for the reflexive understanding of the production, distribution, and reception of ethnography. Its goal is not mere documentation but rather the assessment of the ethical dimensions of the discipline's practice in a globalizing world. By melding ethical concerns with reflection on the text and the object itself, Ethnographic Artifacts adds dimension to the now well-established reflexive literature. Contributors: Niko Besnier, Jonathan Friedman, Michael Goldsmith, Sjoerd R. Jaarsma, Grant McCall, Mary N. MacDonald, Judith Macdonald, Toon van Meijl, Marta A. Rohatynskyj.

This is Book 4 of 7 in the Ethnographer's Toolkit, Second Edition. This collection of individually authored chapters provides cutting-edge approaches to ethnography. Specialized Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach complements the basic inventory of ethnographic data collection tools presented in Book 3 with a number of important additional approaches to conducting ethnography. These include defining and collecting cultural artifacts, collecting secondary and archival data, cultural sorting and comparing methods, spatial research and analysis, network research and analysis, use of multimedia strategies for the collection of ethnographic data, ways to recruit and study "hidden populations," and participatory ethnographic video production. These data collection strategies are called "enhanced ethnographic methods" because each of them parallels and enhances a strategy first presented in Book 3. Most ethnographers will want to use at least one or two of these enhanced ethnographic methods in their work. Each classic chapter is comprehensive, offering an introduction, description, examples of how to use the method or approach, and discussion of how to conduct effective analyses. Using Book 3 and Book 4 together adds depth and accuracy to cultural portraits and explications. Other books in the set: Book 1: Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research: An Introduction, Second Edition by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759118690 Book 2: Initiating Ethnographic Research: A Mixed Methods Approach by Stephen L. Schensul, Jean J. Schensul, and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122017 Book 3: Essential Ethnographic Methods: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122031 Book 5: Analysis and Interpretation of Ethnographic Data: A Mixed Methods Approach, Second Edition by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122079 Book 6: Ethics in Ethnography: A Mixed Methods Approach by Margaret D. LeCompte and Jean J. Schensul 9780759122093 Book 7: Ethnography in Action: A Mixed Methods Approach by Jean J. Schensul and Margaret D. LeCompte 9780759122116

Brimming with examples, this book demonstrates how qualitative researchers can use autoethnography as a method for qualitative research. Topics include a brief history of autoethnography; the purposes and practices of doing autoethnography; interpreting, analyzing, and representing personal experience; and evaluating autoethnographic work.

This book offers a new framework for analysing textbook discourse, bridging the gap between contemporary ethnographic approaches and multimodality for a contextually sensitive approach which considers the multiplicity of multimodal resources involved in the production and use of textbooks. The volume makes the case for textbook discourse studies to go beyond studies of textual representation and critically consider the ways in which textbook discourse is situated within wider social practices. Each chapter considers a different social semiotic practice in which textbook and textbook discourse is involved: representation, communication, interaction, learning, and recontextualization. In bringing together this work with contemporary ethnography scholarship, the book offers a comprehensive toolkit for further research on textbook discourse and pushes the field forward into new directions. This innovative book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in discourse analysis, multimodality, social semiotics, language and communication, and curriculum studies.

A comprehensive and practical guide to ethnographic research, this book guides you through the process, starting with the fundamentals of choosing and proposing a topic and selecting a research design. It describes methods of data collection (taking notes, participant observation, interviewing, identifying themes and issues, creating ethnographic maps and tables and charts, and referring to secondary sources) and analyzing and writing ethnography (sorting and coding data, answering questions, choosing a presentation style, and assembling the ethnography). Although content is focused on producing written ethnography, many of the principles and methods discussed here also apply to other forms of ethnographic presentation, including ethnographic film. Designed to give basic hands-on experience in the overall ethnography research process, Ethnography Essentials covers a wealth of topics, enabling anyone new to ethnography research to successfully explore the excitement and challenges of field research.

Once seen as a collection of artifacts and ritual objects, African art now commands respect from museums and collectors. Bennetta Jules-Rosette and J.R. Osborn explore the reframing of African art through case studies of museums and galleries in the United States, Europe, and Africa. The authors take a three-pronged approach. Part One ranges from curiosity cabinets to virtual websites to offer a history of ethnographic and art museums and look at their organization and methods of reaching out to the public. In the second part, the authors examine museums as ecosystems and communities within communities, and they use semiotic methods to analyze images, signs, and symbols drawn from the experiences of curators and artists. The third part introduces innovative strategies for displaying, disseminating, and reclaiming African art. The authors also propose how to reinterpret the art inside and outside the museum and show ways of remixing the results. Drawing on extensive conversations with curators, collectors, and artists, African Art Reframed is an essential guide to building new exchanges and connections in the dynamic worlds of African and global art.

This collection of essays chronicles the diversity and richness of one broad category of traditional material culture - fiber industries or textiles - among prehistoric and historic Native Americans in eastern North America. Such industries, which include basketry, fabrics, cordage, and netting, played an important role in the economic, social, and ceremonial life of indigenous cultures. However, because of the extreme age of the artifacts, their fragile nature, and unfavorable preservation conditions, knowledge of these industries has long been incomplete - resulting in a gap in scholarship that this volume does much to address.

Collecting Cultures investigates colonial museum collecting practices in indigenous communities based upon the case of the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land.