Ethnographic fieldwork in Anthropology challenges the experts to be less attached to the subjects of study; to leave their own believes, understandings of culture, and opinions outside of the research. While “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” by Richard B. Lee takes place in foreign location, “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS” by Claire E. Sterk occurred in a familiar urban setting; nonetheless, they both experienced the advantages and disadvantages of working in a known area versus an unfamiliar location. In the text “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”, Richard Borshay Lee is exposed to the lifestyle of the !Kung. Some of the advantages of researching in a remote unfamiliar location might be in terms of exploring the area. Because
the researcher is unfamiliar with the zone, he or she might put more effort in getting to know what goes on around them. Researching the area and understanding how the surroundings affect that specific community instead of already knowing what to expect and making assumptions upon what is already known, might result in less biases. Also, it might become easier when describing certain situations form a more detached point of view because the researcher feels less identify with that population. Some of the ethical dilemmas that come with working in a foreign environment are: whether to recompense people for information or not, how to show appreciation for their time without being offensive and finding the best way to approach the people of this community. Claire E. Sterk in “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS”, works in a familiar urban setting in Brooklyn. While it might be easier for her to get around the area in terms of transportation and knowing what to expect, it becomes a harder mission to be detached from the subjects of study. Like she herself explains in the text, it was hard not to get to involved with these women. She would feel bad because she had a home and heat during winter, while these women living just a few miles from her wouldn’t. It became difficult to maintain an ethical approach when she felt some type of loyal commitment to the group. One of Sterk’s struggles was the obligation she felt to try to help these women have better opportunities in life, but she couldn’t help them get out of that life because if the owner of the woman found out, her research would be ruin and her life in danger.
In the field of applied anthropology, the concept of cultural relativism is central to any form of research. The concept of cultural relativism encompasses the ability of an anthropologist or an observant to understand a different culture in its own context, without imposing one's belief and values on that culture. Ideally, in her book Monique and the Mango Rains, anthropologist Kris Holloway provides a descriptive account of her ethnographic fieldwork in the country of Mali. Through her book, the readers get an opportunity to understand the lives of Malian women in multifarious aspects. In this essay, an analysis is drawn on the situation of women in the Nampossela village of Mali in terms of their social, economic and health status in
Claire E. Sterk in her article, Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS, highlights the experiences of women engaged in a centuries-old profession in metropolitan Atlanta and New York City that is now plagued by the onslaught of a cureless disease. Whereas, in Doing Fieldwork among the Ya̧nomamö, Napoleon A. Chagnon immerses himself into the society of a Venezuelan tribe, which has a complex set of customs that he must understand first in order to document a comprehensive genealogy of the tribe. Through a critical study of both accounts, we can draw similarities in the anthropologists’ experiences, such as certain obstacles that kept them from effectively implementing research methodologies, as well as differences like the way in which they approached their subjects and involved themselves in their respective societal structures. Although both researchers had disparate goals to achieve and societies to examine, we can observe that the process they sustain has many parallels especially when they revisit their approaches to collecting information and entering the societies by building relationships with informants and subjects alike.
Even a student that has been educated for only four weeks in anthropology can admit that their viewpoint has changed since acquiring their knowledge. Studying a foreign way of life and unfamiliar customs sheds light on the impact that one’s own culture has on their thoughts. Anthropology is valuable because has the ability to remove the shock and misunderstanding that occurs when examining an alien worldview. The value of cultural relativism, the principle that one culture should not be judged by the standard of another culture, is illustrated in the comparison of Peace Corp volunteer Floyd Sandford’s African Odyssey and anthropologist Richard Lee’s Dobe Ju/’hoansi. A trained anthropologist speaks primarily in the voices of the people and quantitative data, while a relatively untrained Peace Corp worker enters a new culture and colors his account with his own emotional reactions and voice.
Though he tries to remain analytical, questioning if indeed “... [in] The 21st century, there were still nomadic hunter-gatherers out there using stone tools and rubbing sticks together to start a fire,” Behar soon begins to exhibit visceral reactions to the environment (Behar, 1). Though he claims to be in Papua for journalistic purposes, Behar cannot maintain an impartial disposition. After contact with tribesmen one of Woolford’s native outfitters believed to be native peoples, Behar undergoes a transformation. That evening, he begins to fear his surroundings, telling readers “The jungle is claustrophobic and, at times, maddening—the incessant rain, heat, and mud, the screeching of cicadas, the eerie sensation we're being watched” (Behar, 9). Abandoning his logical, systematic disguise, Behar becomes paranoid, becoming one with the primeval essence of the jungle.
Trigger’s expedition in Nubia was a tremendous beginning to his career, starting his exploring in the lands that originally inspired him to follow his anthropological career path. His research in the area was primarily based on tracking the patterns of movements and chan...
...l. 2013 Introduction to Anthropology. In: Sex, Food and Death. Anthropology 1AA3, Custom Second Edition for McMaster University. Toronto: Pearson Education.
Richard Borsay Lee immerses himself into the world of the !Kung Bushmen, investigating the “hunting and gathering subsistence economy” (Lee, 2) of these people in his article Eating Christmas in the Kalahari. Lee shows his appreciation for the Bushmen accepting him into their world by partaking in a tradition: obtaining the largest, fattest Ox for the Christmas feast. Lee does just that, however the Bushmen erupt in discontent at the selection made. As the Ox is sliced into, layers of fat are apparent proving this to be a perfect Ox. Lee questions the Bushmen why they would fool him, their response provides the conclusion: to keep the Bushmen humble.
Gordon accurately depicts the varied and vibrant Asian culture, by showing the reader this world instead of simply describing it. Each of the men whom Gordon uses to tell the story undertakes expeditions which are mixed with hardships and triumphs. The varied spectrum of Asian cultures is covered. Readers will find Gordon’s take on tackling this topic fresh and straightforward.
There are approximately 196 countries in the world and almost every single one of them celebrates Christmas differently. Christmas in Mexico (Navidad) is a million times different than the Christmas that we know and celebrate in the U.S. In Mexico there are lots of events that happen before January 6th, which is Epiphany day (The day of the Three Wise Men) also known as “El Dia de los Reyes”. I am will be explaining every all of the events that take place during Christmas (Navidad) all the way up to January 6th.
With the help of the women’s movement and the rise of feminism, female anthropologists were able to publish their own ethnographies. However, women ethnographers conti...
In Return to Laughter, the anthropologist describes the anthropological fieldwork they did in Nigeria, and explains how through this fieldwork, they learned a significant amount of information about Nigeria. In one example, the character described witchcraft in the West Africa, and explains how one time she was scolded for interacting with “a witch, one whom the entire community had ostracized” (Return to Laughter, 218). Connecting with witches was not tolerated in many African cultural groups, as many felt witches were evil. This example is significant as it illustrates how through anthropological fieldwork, anthropologists learn different values and customs in different cultural groups. In addition, another example that illustrates how anthropological fieldwork can provide individuals with information about cultural groups occurs when she describes how her understanding of the groups’ language improved significantly over time. She states, “As my grasp of the language improved, I began to be able to relax in company” (Return to Laughter, 78). Through her anthropological research, she was able to not only understand the language of the group, but she was also able to communicate effectively in that particular language. This is significant as it illustrates the importance of
In the essay, Eating Christmas in the Kalahari, it displays how important understanding a culture can be. A simple misunderstanding by the anthropologist, Richard Borshay Lee, caused him to fear and to practically leave the !Kung people. By the end of the article, Lee’s explains how he begins to understand the !Kung culture and how they view themselves. By enriching his knowledge in the !Kung’s culture, he was able to understand the idea of generosity better.
The article Eating Christmas in the Kalahari by Richard Borshay Lee was about an anthropologist who wanted to by an ox for the tribes to eat on Christmas day so they can dance and everyone could get full. The whole article was a long trick they were playing on Richard they were telling him the ox he bought to eat for Christmas wasn’t going to have enough meet for everyone that it was all bone and it was old and about to die. It turns out in the end it was fat and full of meat and everyone had enough to eat they ate it for a couple days after. It turns out that’s the way the people talk about food they don’t want anyone to get a big head and raise their pride they are afraid that it will create an individual who will feel his is superior
In order to come up with an elaborate and comprehensive research work, an individual has to employ tactics and various skills or approaches of gathering information from the field. These approaches are referred to as methodologies that must be used during data collection and analysis in general. In Kenneth Feder’s research work there are various skills and methods that he used in his anthropology to en...
In “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” we are given an inside view of what a social anthropologist experienced while celebrating a tradition in another culture. In American culture Christmas is celebration of God, spending time with family members, and giving gifts to one another. On the other hand, in the Bushmen’s tradition they gather the biggest ox to offer to their people, and have a celebration. As a man from a different culture, Lee wanted to give the Bushmen’s one of the largest ox he could find in order to show his appreciation, and thank everyone for welcoming him into their land. After he gives the people a big ox he is taunted, and put down for not having a larger ox. He was told he was being inconsiderate to the people for not getting a large one that could feed everyone in the land.