I now see that Maximilian made all of my points in about a third of the number of words - this is exactly right. don _______________________________________________ Don Slater Reader in Sociology, London School of Economics Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE Tel: +44 (020) 7849 4653 Fax: +44 (020) 7955 7405 http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/slater ______________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Maximilian Forte [mailto:mcforte@kacike.org] Sent: 18 February 2004 14:01 To: air-l@aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] re: ethnography So I just don't see the point of denying (as I feel Maximillian is) or eliding (as I feel Don was) the power dynamic intrinsic in ethnographic research (and other social research as Ed suggested). I don't feel that I was denying power relations--I was actually expanding on them. What I did say is that power relations are not just uni-directional, except in simplistic and conspiratorial critiques that themselves deny a voice to those whose experiences suggest something very different. It all depends on what kind of indviduals and groups you are working with: if they are hapless little children, then I could see why we would be concerned about the presumed omnipotence of the ethnographer. If you are working against such subjects, or with the aim of getting data and then dumping them as soon as possible, then again I could see where research subjects may be marginalized, excluded, etc--but they may also be very relieved to be rid of you. They may also be realists and realize that whatever is written about them in academia matters little because, after all, reports buried in specialist journals can almost be considered "private" discussions given the general population's lack of interest in these publications. There is also ethnography in the action research mode, strong forms of collaboration, etc., that simply make rubbish of the sometimes overwrought critiques of ethnography. The answers are not to be found in libraries "before you head out there": it's a matter of not being too naive--we are not these overwhelmingly important, omnipotent centres of the universe that we believe ourselves to be, a view which is perhaps flattering to ourselves. I am concerned about anyone thinking in patronizing or condescending terms of our so-called informants, ignoring their own actual power. If one of the main questions you ask yourself as researchers while engaged in field work is "am I an oppressor" (instead of "am I a pawn"), then I would go as far as saying that you are deluding yourself, or that you should quit the research and pick on someone your own size :) Cheers, Dr Maximilian C. Forte Assistant Professor in Anthropology Department of Anthropology and Sociology University College of Cape Breton P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, NS, Canada, B1N 1A3 Tel: 902-563-1947 Fax: 902-563-1247 E-mail: max_forte@uccb.ca Website: http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca/mforte/ _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l@aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l