Hi Haighleagh
Perhaps we need some ethnographies done on anthropologists to answer
your question. I think when charachterising anthropology -one has
to differentiate between what's generally taught on courses - i.e.
the 'traditional' obsession with 'primitive soc', with what's
actually out there to be read. E.g. there is now a great deal of
anthropological writing on childhood in western society's. There is
work carried out in non-european countries which don't fit the
'primitive' stereotypes e.g. anything by Rabinow. There has been
loads of studies in rural communities in Scotland (see ref below for
paper which discusses this) although it is debatable whether the
anthropologists viewed these communities as anything other than
'primitive'. Then we have Barth's work on Norway, Judith Okely's
work with Gypsy communities in Britain, Hockey and James's work on
the life course, Bourdieu's stuff on different groups in France and
all the Japanese studies lot.
Having read your mailing of the (25/10/99) several times I'm not
entirely sure what you are saying about anthropologists being
pioneers in the field of disability studies - could you clarify this
comment for me?
We could be pioneering because of the post-structural shift. I
think the papers emerging this year (and forthcoming) in Disability
studies by Mairian, Russell and Devva are excellent. However, you
should note this shift has also taken place in other paradigms.
Indeed, the great benefit of Mairian's work is that it bridges
across a number of paradigm's. Hence, I would be reticent to make
claims which could act to set us, as anthropologists,
apart from others in the field of disability studies (although, as I
say I'm not entirely sure if that's what you meant). This is
especially important for myself, Mairian and Mark because (in case
you don't know) we have worked together on the same research
project, for my part this experience has made me more humble about
anthropology.
By the way are any of the texts below on the reading lists of any
of the courses you have done? Some of the refs were included in my
earlier mailing (11/10/99) in response to Mark. Ive extended the
original list. Please note that the reference to Glauser, B (1990)
is the sort of anthropology that Mark was calling for in his email.
Here Glauser deconstructus the concept of street-children through his
ethnography of children who inhabit the streets of Asuncion, Paraguy.
Again, like Campbell's work it is a story about disabling
environments which shows no recognition of the disability studies
literature:
Marcus, G. (1986) Contemporary Problems of Ethnography in a World
System. in Marcus, G. E. & Clifford, J.(1986) (eds)Writing Culture:
The Poetics and Politics of ethnography, (Berkeley, Uni of
California Press)
Marcus, G. & Fisher, M. (1986) Anthropology as a Cultural Critique.
(Chicago, Chicago University Press).
Callaway, H. & OKely, J. (eds) Anthropology and Autobiography,
(London, Routledge)
Campbell, A. T. (1995) Getting to Know Waiwai: An
Amazonian Ethnography. (London, Routledge).
Campbell, A. T. (1996)Tricky tropes: Styles of the poular and the
pompous in MacClancy J and McDonaugh C, Popularising Anthropology.
(London, Routledge).
Clifford, J. (1983) On Ethnographic Authority, Representations , 1,
pp. 118-46.
Denzin, N. (1997) Interpretative Ethnography: Ethnographic Practices
for the 21st Century, (London, Sage).
Davis, J. M., Watson, N. & Cunningham-Burley, S. (1999), Learning the
Lives of Disabled Children: Developing a reflexive approach, in
Christensen, P. & James, A. (eds) Conducting Research With Children,
(London, Falmer)
Davis, J. M. (2000): 'Disability studies as ethnographic research &
text: Research strategies and roles for promoting social change?'
Disability & Society (forthcoming) which might be of interest.
Hockey, J & James A, (1993) Growing UP and Growing Old Ageing
and Dependency in the Life Course, Sage.
Nadel-Klein, J (1997) Crossing a Representational Divide: From West
to East in Scottish Ethnography, in James A, Hockey J & Dawson A
(eds) After Writing Culture. Routledge: London
Okely, J. (1992) Anthropology and Autobiography: Participatory
experience and embodied knowledge, in: Callaway, H. & OKely, J. (eds)
Anthropology and Autobiography, (London, Routledge).
Okely, J (1994) Thinking Through Fieldwork, in: Bryman, A. &
Burgess, R. G. (eds) Analysing Qualitative Data. (London, Routledge).
Okely J (1997) Some political Consequences of Theories of Gypsy
Ethnicity: The place of the intellectual, in James A, Hockey A &
Dawson A (eds) After Writing Culture. Routledge: London
James A and others, (1998), Theorising Childhood. Polity Press
James, A & Prout, A, 'Contemporary issues in the Sociological study of
Childhood', in James, A & Prout, A eds (1990)Constructing and
Reconstructing Childhood. FalmerJames, A & Prout, A, 'Contemporary
issues in the Sociological study of
Glauser, B 'Street Children: Deconstructing a construction', in
James, A & Prout, A eds (1990) Constructing and Reconstructing
Childhood. Falmer
Thorne, B (1993) Gender Play: Girls and Boys in Schools, Rutgers Uni.
Press: New Jersey.
Cheers
John
Dr John M Davis
Department of Public Health Sciences/
Research Unit in Health and Behavioural Change
The University of Edinburgh
Medical School
Teviot Place
Edinburgh
EH8 9AG
tele 0131 650 3244/6197
fax 0131 650 6909
email [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|