Anthropology and Ethnography: Science, method, writing

By Roberto Malighetti

What is the relation between ethnography and anthropology? How to develop a scientific discourse starting from a personal experience, deeply involved in the process research and in relations with interlocutors in the field? The book discusses how the initial assumption of the principles of modern science shaped the separation between ethnographic practices and anthropological theory. It then examines the ways in which the adoption of the hermeneutical perspectives and of the contemporary scientific acquisitions, conceived the integration between the ethnographic practice, the theoretical elaboration and the writing processes. From these perspectives the text grants anthropology a privileged position to question the epistemological status of knowledge and to contribute to the dialogue between the sciences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morcelliana
• Release date: May 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9788828403241

Book preview

Anthropology and Ethnography

Anthropology and Ethnography

Science, method, writing

Roberto Malighetti

18

L’arca di Scholé

e-book

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Copyright Editrice Morcelliana © 2021

Via Gabriele Rosa 71 – 25121 Brescia

www.morcelliana.com

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ISBN 978-88-284-0324-1

First edition: may 2021

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.

Index

1. Anthropology and ethnography: an epistemological question

2. The modern conception of science: empirical research and theoretical elaboration

3. Armchair theorists and field researchers

4. Ethno-anthropology: the construction of knowledge

5. Writing, participation, reflexivity

6. The contribution of anthropology to the dialogue between sciences

Bibliography

Back cover

The author

Series L’arca di Scholé

1

Anthropology and ethnography: an epistemological question

Ethnography is the original activity and the constitutive dimension of anthropology as an empirical science. The etymological density of the term (from the ancient Greek ethnos people and graphéin to write) defines a research method and the peculiar fieldwork activity carried out through prolonged periods of stay in direct contact with the objects of study and with the interlocutors. At the same time, it points out that ethnography is a version of social reality inevitably mediated by forms of writing.

The ethnographic practice marked the evolution of anthropology and represents the fundamental place for the formulation of the major theoretical achievements. It is an important element for the disciplinary identification and a necessary rite of passage that qualifies the professional role of the anthropologist. In an age where the boundaries between disciplines are blurred, anthropology can claim its originality vis-à-vis the other sciences primarily for fieldwork. The anthropologists themselves are recognized through their relationships with the protagonists of their field: Bronislaw Malinowski with the Trobrianders, Marcel Griaule with the Dogon, Franz Boas with the Kwakiutl, Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown with the Andaman islanders, Edward Evans- Pritchard with the Nuer and Azande, Raymond Firth with the Tikopia, Maurice Leenhardt with the Dinka, Clifford Geertz with the Balinese, Gregory Bateson with the Iatmul, Bruno Latour with the scientists and engineers, Paul Rabinow with the biotechnologists.

The semantic complexity of the word combines methodological and epistemological questions. Indeed, the effort of creating a scientific discourse on the basis of a personal experience grants the discipline a privileged position to examine the scientific status of knowledge. The