ATH 175 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Ethnocentrism, Participant Observation
19 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Fieldwork: research in the field, the field refers to any place where culture is found. Participant observation: basic fieldwork method of anthropology, living and immersing oneself in said culture, involves living for extended periods of time in the area being studied, participate in the culture as much as the locals will allow. Armchair anthropologists : collected field reports from many sources (missionaries, journalists, etc. ) and synthesized, analyzed, and theorized about these sources. Verandah anthropology : anthropologists travelled to colonial sites in africa and asia to conduct surveys and interviews. Bad data results, people had no incentive to answer questions and translators manipulated data to make it what they thought the anthropologists wanted to hear. Fieldwork as a learning process: the encounter: you only recognize culture when you encounter difference, culture shock: the psychological discomfort/bewilderment that occurs when one"s expectations are disrupted and one does not know how to act.
