Being There: Fieldwork in Anthropology (Anthropology, Culture and Society) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745314929 ISBN 13: 9780745314921

Publisher: Pluto Press, 1999

Synopsis

The nature of anthropological fieldwork changes from generation to generation, reflecting current personal, moral and political issues. This collection addresses the central position of fieldwork in modern social anthropology, examining previous works on the subject and locating a discussion of the nature of fieldwork within the context of current theoretical debates.

Central to this analysis are the personal accounts of six anthropologists, all trained in the tradition of social anthropology and working in a variety of different social, economic and environmental settings --- Italy, the Himalayas, Northern England, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Each example is a discussion of the close relationship which anthropologists establish with friends and informants in the field. Collectively they describe the varying ways in which that closeness affects the nature of the anthropologists' observation, as well as an understanding of themselves and their discipline. The study reveals that, although the younger generation of social anthropologists clearly derive their inspiration from the ideas and insights of an earlier generation, they are working with a set of very different political and personal circumstances.

Accessible, beautifully written and jargon-free, Being There breaks new ground in the way in which its authors explain and reflect on their intentions and emotions, and the nature of their personal relationships with their informants.

About this title

About the Author

C.W. Watson teaches in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He is editor (with Roy F. Ellen) of Understanding Witchcraft and Sorcery in Southeast Asia (1994) and is the author of Kinship, Property and Inheritance in Kerinci, Central Sumatra (1994).

Edition details

• Publisher: Pluto Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745314929
• ISBN 13: 9780745314921
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 184
• Editor: Watson C. W.