Readings - Anderson (Week 8)

Anderson's text surrounding ethnographic methods discusses the uses of an ethnography and the components of the analysis method. An 'ethnography' is defined as, “writing of culture,” and involves 'the members of one culture observing and participating in the culture of another.' It is an outsider's analysis of a culture and involves many different forms such as recording speech, collecting artefacts, capturing images and constructing charts.

Anderson explains how an ethnography starts with identification in which the analyst can achieve some member recognition, allowing them to begin to understand what and how things are done within that culture. He states that the role of the ethnographer is to provide a narrative through careful observation, and that the observer must have some sort of self-awareness (reflexivity).

For an ethnography to work effectively and properly, two methodological criteria have to be hand in hand. These include the explanatory goal of the narrative member and the signature practice of participant observation, and as Anderson highlights, 'to abandon one is to fail at the other.' This means that when conducting an ethnography, I must keep these to factors in mind to ensure a well thought through analysis.

The text highlights the importance of member understanding, explaining how it answers questions surrounding the how and why of a particular membership. This theoretical concept is one that is present in both modern and post-modern formulations, which aids my studies as both have different theorist approaches: modern member understanding looks at discovering underlying structures, whereas post-modern theorists look at member understanding for foundations. Anderson again links this back to the role of the ethnographer telling us how they should document the practices that achieve the effect, otherwise know as a material ethnography.

Five components

Within the text, Anderson explains the five components of an ethnography. The 'ethnographic problem' highlights the how and what in a membership, looking at what causes membership behaviour. The second component, 'the membership,' involves culturally understanding the overall membership. It looks at the relational practices of the members – “people who are connected through common practices of understanding, recognised activities and mutual obligations.” This leads on to the third component, 'gaining access.' Access may be difficult to gain due to age, gender, religion of the members, however Anderson explains how access can be increased through trust and returned practices. Gaining access means that the ethnographer can find out more about the membership and in return get a greater quality ethnography with more detail. The fourth and fifth components, 'fieldwork' and 'making sense of it all,' look at the ways in which you can gather and record the ethnography. This involves informants, guides and mentors within the membership who are likely to have more knowledge, and should be recorded systematically using maps, photos, charts, sketches and text.

Anderson finishes his text by explaining the importance of an ethnography and how research has be carried out for a long period of time to get the best results. This is due to the ever changing ways of culture, and how they adapt and change over time.