1st Edition
Anthropological Practice Fieldwork and the Ethnographic Method
Anthropologists are increasingly pressurised to formulate field methods for teaching. Unlike many hypothesis-driven ethnographic texts, this book is designed with the specific needs of the anthropology student and field researcher in mind, with particular emphasis on the core anthropological method: long term participant observation. Anthropological Practice explores fieldwork experiences unique to anthropology, and provides the context by which to explain and develop practice-based and open-ended methodology. It draws on dialogues with over twenty established and younger anthropologists, whose fieldwork spans the late 1960s to the present day, taking place in locations as diverse as Europe, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, North and South America.Revealing first-hand and hitherto unrecorded aspects of fieldwork, Anthropological Practice provides critical, systematic ways to enhance anthropological and alternative knowledge. It is an essential text for anthropology students and researchers, and for all disciplines concerned with ethnography.Interviewees include: Paul Clough, Roy Gigengack, Louise de la Gorgendière, Suzette Heald, Michael Herzfeld, Signe Howell, Felicia Hughes-Freeland, Ignacy Marek Kaminski, Margaret Kenna, Raquel Alonso Lopez, Malcolm Mcleod, Brian Morris, Hélène Neveu Kringelbach, Akira Okazaki, Joanna Overing, Jonathan Parry, Carol Silverman, Mohammad Talib, Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper, Sue Wright, Helena Wulff, Joseba Zulaika.
Biography
Judith Okely (MA, D.Phil Oxford) is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, Hull University and Honorary Research Associate, School of Anthropology, Oxford University. Her books include The Traveller Gypsies, Simone de Beauvoir: a Re-Reading, Own or Other Culture, co-edited volumes and many articles. She has done fieldwork in Western Ireland, England and France (Ethnos 2001). In 2011 she was awarded the seal of Pilsen City, and an honorary medal of West Bohemia University, Czech Republic. She was selected as a Pioneer of Qualitative Social Research, ESDA UK.
"What makes this work distinctive from other publications about ethnographic methods is that the author provides detailed accounts from interviews she conducted with anthropologists whom she asked to reflect on their fieldwork experiences … Those with fieldwork experience including graduate students, newly graduated Ph.Ds., and seasoned anthropologists will enjoy Judith Okely’s and her colleagues’ perspectives about fieldwork. For those who want to reflect on ethnographic methods and its purposes, I highly recommend it. - American Ethnologist - Judith Singleton The author has done admirable research on anthropological fieldwork methods and the contribution of different scholars . . . The book is a rich anthropological work and it is worth praising for citing so many anthropological works with such an immense exposure to the great many scholars of anthropology . . . For someone aware of the richness and beauty of anthropology and looking for critiques to the works of anthropology, this is the right book. - Anthropological Notebooks - Rimai Joy, Amity University, India [Anthropological Practice] is certainly a successful and rewarding tour. Okely writes with passion, humour and clarity ... [She] rigorously and consistently demonstrates her arguments and insights throughout. - Qualitative Research Unique in its scope, Okely's text offers a rich breadth of experience and a very nuanced understanding of what actually occurs in practice. Students and even seasoned researchers will gain a much needed glimpse into the realities faced by fieldworkers. - Susan E. Frohlick, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Manitoba [Anthropological Practice] thoroughly elaborates on conceptual categories and commonly accepted assumptions regarding this subject. It is an extremely useful resource for anthropologists, students, professional social researchers and research trainees … this book is an indispensable tool that should be included in every list of suggested readings on anthropology and ethnography. - Social Anthropology"
