Ethnography
ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY ESSAY Knowledge and lifestyles of ancient civilizations aren't lost over time. The people in civilizations who held this knowledge such as where to find the best honey or how to tend for the sick were highly valued and they passed on their knowledge to the younger generations. Ethnoarchaeologists are people who look at the ethnographic evidence surrounding the archaeological site in order to understand how an artifact may have been used in the past. Ethnography or the study of people who live in a similar way to those of the past can help archaeologists identify material evidence left over the ancestral civilizations found in dig sites. When archaeologists come across artifacts they are not familiar with, they refer to ethnographers who in turn try to link the ancient objects to the ancestors of the people among whom they live. The concept of ethnoarchaeology is best illustrated in the artifacts found by the archaeologists in Jordan. For example material remains left by the ancient people of Tall al-Umayri can be linked to the ingenious descendants of the old civilizations. Such instances include the bones of goats and sheep found in dig sites which are evidence of a process of churning yoghurt, butter or cheese inside a dead goat or sheep that still exists today. Seeds from vegetation and wheat or barley in storage jars found in the site show that
Gender Effects In Ethnography.
GENDER EFFECTS IN ETHNOGRAPHY Anthropologists use various methodologies in the aim of understanding different lives and cultures. Which methodology used is dependant on what the anthropologist wishes to achieve. Ethnography is a popular and successful methodology with Sociocultural Anthropologists as it is the direct study of culture and society through interaction and immersion in a society via fieldwork. Ethnographers seek to dispel ignorance about a culture through asking for assistance from the people who belong to it (Handwerker, quoted in Fetterman 1988: 4). When planned and conducted correctly ethnography can provide an invaluable and wonderful amount of insight into other cultures. Many ethnographic reports describe the success and failure of fieldwork. A great deal note the success of ethnographic research is dependent on the level of community acceptance achieved by the anthropologist. Karim suggests that acceptance into a community is required so that the community is not "tainted with misconceptions" (1993: 89) and act in a way they assume is expected by the anthropologist1. Rasmussen & Warren (2001: 21) indicate that first impressions are essential to community acceptance and the quality and type of data collected by the anthropologist. A combination of an anthropologist's appearance, characteristics, age, experience, gender and the current political
What is Ethnography.
Workshop/coursework 1/teacher: Prof. Anne Murcott Nadine Estelle Abea Topic: Ethnography Introduction "Ethnography is a predominantly qualitative research style using a set of methods in which the researcher takes part overtly or covertly in people's lives for an extended period of time, collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issue that are the focus of research". To utilize this technique of gathering data, was the main objective of the workshop. 4 different aspects of the conduct of all practical experiences will be illustrated Throughout the assignment. .Aspect: Choice of setting Choosing a setting involves also choosing a target audience. I wanted to find an environment where I could observe a variety of different people (different backgrounds, origins and color of skin; all gathering in one specific place). The underground system seemed to me as the perfect choice, since it offered the right ambience for my first, focused observing experience. What troubled me initially was the perspective of observation. I experienced problems placing myself correctly, where I did not have to fear to disturb my target audience. My first perspective was from within a given crowed at the beginning of the platform of the station Kings cross-St. Pancras, just after the stairways. After about 5 minutes I changed position and therefore moved
Ethnography - A Christian Youth Group
Ethnography: A Christian Youth Group ? Veronica Diaz-Reinhagen Ethnography Seminar Professor Janet Siskind April 23, 2002 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my informant, Amanda Q. for taking the time and energy to follow through on her commitment to each of our scheduled interviews for this project. She has made the experience of developing this work, a truly enjoyable one. I would also like to thank Professor Siskind for her guidance and advice on this ethnography. She has also help me discover a newfound excitement and interest in Cutural Anthropology. The Informant My informant for this project is Amanda Q. Amanda is a bright, articulate and "bubbly" seventeen year old senior at Albertus Magna High School, in New York. She is an honor-roll student who enjoys participating in all kinds of sports and also belongs to the Spanish Club. She recently received a scholarship from Hofstra University where she eagerly plans to pursue a career in journalism, beginning this fall...or maybe Drama...or maybe Film... But above all, like most teens, she is looking forward to "flying the nest", to live on campus in Long Island, and "explore her freedom" for the first time. Amanda also has a part-time job, working three times a week, at a Starbucks coffee shop, in Suffern, NY. The short hours of her shifts give her enough time to engage in some other kind of
The ethnography Peter Wogan's Magical Writing In Salasaca: Literacy and Power in Highland Ecuador was far more intriguing then I had expected.
Marissa Cabading History 205 / Winter 2011 Magical Writing In Salasaca The ethnography “Magical Writing In Salasaca: Literacy and Power in Highland Ecuador” was far more intriguing then I had expected. I enjoyed the way the book was organized and felt that it was very easy to follow because Peter Wogan broke his book into different categories and subjects. He breaks the book into categories starting with witchcraft and writing, in which he talks about his personal experiences with the book of names, San Gonzalo, and his personal beliefs on these magical writings. Then he discusses the sources of these magical beliefs and how they affect the culture of the Salasaca.. The following chapter is called God’s book and he discusses the Salasacas beliefs in the world beyond this one. Discussing the accounts of a man named Clemente who returned from the dead to Julia, to whom he stayed with during his time in Equador. Furthermore, he discusses the day of the dead in chapter. I found this chapter the most interesting because I had heard of the day of the dead before, and never knew what it was about. I found it interesting that the day of the dead differed from the Mexican day of the dead. In addition, it surprised me to how the Salasca’s deeply believed in the routine that holy water must be splashed on the list of souls to cool them off. I feel that the author organized
How do symbols organise and define to construct kinship? A comparison from the ethnography of Ndembu and American (USA) cultures.
Q2. How do symbols organise and define to construct kinship? A comparison from the ethnography of Ndembu and American (USA) cultures. Introduction Kinship is a social and cultural construction and to be found within kinship is the family unit. This essay shall investigate Kinship in a western and Ndembu cultural context to investigate symbolism and how it organises and defines to construct kinship. Specifically, love, marriage and social context will be examined to illustrate this construction. Symbolism Before delving straight into the ethnography of the Ndembu and the United States of America (from here on in known as America) the definition of symbolism has to be understood. Firstly, symbols, as understood outside of the social and psychological realms, is, "something which stands for something else, or some things else, where there are no necessary or intrinsic relationship between the symbol and that which it symbolises" (Schneider 1968:1). There is a distinct relationship between symbols and culture. Symbols are culturally constructed, as culture is a system of symbolic meanings. A symbol may bear no relationship to the action or object being symbolised but is rather given meaning by the people in that cultural environment. An example of symbolism can be found in language. Each word that we make has a symbolic meaning, yet it does not bear any intrinsic relation
How to Do Qualitative Research. Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show? This question was chosen to clearly outline the process of ethnography, and how it is useful in f
Mini Project 1. Introduction: Qualitative research is about asking questions and gathering information through words, to then later analyze. One way of doing this is through ethnography. But before any research can be done, there must be a research question. In this case, "Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show?" This question was chosen to clearly outline the process of ethnography, and how it is useful in finding out the information needed to answer this research question. Methodology: An ethnography is "A Research approach to understanding the culture of a group (patterns of behaviour/attitudes, how they create meaning), by immersing oneself in the activities of the specific group over a period of time and then writing up a descriptive summary." (Savage 3). An ethnographic approach includes being engaged in and listening to conversations, taking regular notes and collecting "artifacts" of the group being studied (Savage 7). All of these things later help in writing up a summary of findings that where gathered from the ethnography. There are two main types of ethnography, first there is an overt ethnography where the participants are told they are being observed. This type of ethnography is most commonly used and is less risky because the participants are aware of the study that is taking place. The
An exercise in Ethnography - As an ethnographer I will conduct my research by comparing an academic library with a public library.
An exercise in Ethnography As an ethnographer I will conduct my research by comparing an academic library with a public library. I will be looking at person to person interaction in my academic library partly because university library is the core for a university. This is because it is one of the places where most students go at sometime regardless of their course or level of study as well as many researchers and academics. I will also look at person to person interaction in a public library because it is the local centre of information that makes all kinds of knowledge and information available to its users. Public libraries and academic libraries provide a wide range of information and ideas. They have an important role in our society in that they are both there to serve the interests, aspirations or needs of the individual. The main difference between them is that public libraries serve the interest of all communities. Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977) once quipped that, 'Outside of a dog, a book is a (person's) best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.' (pg 7 Libraries Without Walls 4). And he also stated that, 'I must say that I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a book' (pg 7 Libraries Without Walls 4). I want to see if this still applies to both those who use academic and public libraries as so
Kinship has often been at the center of many ethnographic accounts - With reference to specific ethnography, show why this has been the case.
Kinship has often been at the center of many ethnographic accounts. With reference to specific ethnography, show why this has been the case. (N99H1Mod) Although different cultures define and calculate kinship in various ways, the generally definition of kinship is the relationship among a group of people who usually share the same blood. Kin groups are the social units whose activities can be observed (Cultural Anthropology 8th Edt. by Conrad Phillip Kottak). There are numerous reasons why anthropologists are so interested in kinship, but the main reasons are that first of all kinship is directly related to the economic actions of a society, and secondly it is the most common element responsible for socialization. In this essay, I am going to examine the importance of kinship (the two reasons that mentioned above) in the study of Anthropology by comparing the two cultures: The Dobe Ju/'hoansi, the band of people living in the Kalahari Desert area, and the Chinese immigrants' in San Francisco Bay Area. The ethnographies being studied are the Dobe Ju/'hoansi by Richard B. Lee (University of Toronto) from 1960s-1990s; and Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship---The New Chinese Immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area by Bernard Wong (San Francisco State University) in the 1990s. Knowing how people make their living is very important; it is because this is how people can survive in
Use your chosen ethnography to examine ways in which the ordering of relatives may reveal information about spiritual, political or economic life among the people you have studied.
Essay title: Use your chosen ethnography to examine ways in which the ordering of relatives may reveal information about spiritual, political or economic life among the people you have studied. Kinship in Korea Traditionally Korean culture is a collectivist and hierarchical society. These structures are reflected everywhere in Korean life which helps to make sense about how Koreans have strong kinship, respect and obedience to their elders. Many anthropologists suggest that among Koreans there is a strong bond between relatives and clan members. Traditionally Koreans have family centred principles and the extended family is the first place to which people turn when they find themselves in trouble. Kin groups are very important to Korean people's daily life in many ways. It is important to know who has got what surname, because it can be defined whether they are from the same clan or not. Haviland, W (2002) defined clan as a non corporate descent group whose member claim descent from a common ancestor without actually knowing the genealogical links to that ancestor. Even if there are a hundred, or a thousand people who have the same surname, they all believe they all come from same ancestor. Quote from Brandt, V.S.R. (1971) 'In its ideal form the Korean kinship system is integrated, coherent, and elaborately documented all the way from single households in the
