Critical Ethnography: Method, Ethics, and Performance

"Critical Ethnography is a rare and beautiful synthesis of deft theorizing and principled pragmatics. The complexities of ethnography demand a grasp of both theory and practice, but rarely have they come together so clearly and completely as in this passionately written text. I especially appreciate the thoughtful attention to the intellectual roots of the critical tradition in ethnography, and to the way students are rigorously led through the methodological consequences of critical epistemology."

 ―Judith Hamera, Texas A&M University

"I would strongly recommend this book for use in any course that explores the role of critical analysis in research. This book thoughtfully discusses and teaches about trying to understand the meanings attributed by others in regard to their expertise."

―Amy Paul-Ward, Florida International University

What is critical ethnography? How do we use theory to interpret research data? What is performance ethnography? Readers can find answers to these fundamental questions in D. Soyini Madison′s engaging and highly multidisciplinary Third Edition of Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. 

The book presents a fresh new look at critical ethnography by emphasizing the significance of ethics and performance in the art and politics of fieldwork. The productive links between theory and method are celebrated in this title. Theoretical concepts range from queer theory, feminist theory, and critical race theory to Marxism and phenomenology. The methodological techniques range from designing and asking in-depth interview questions and developing rapport to coding and interpreting data. The various theories and methods culminate in three fictional ethnographic case studies that "enact" the interdependence between theory and method and the significance of social theory, ethics, and performance.

D. Soyini Madison is professor of Performance Studies and Anthropology, and served as Interim Director of the Program in African Studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of Acts of Activism: Human Rights as Radical Performance (2010, Cambridge UP) and the co-editor with Judith Hamera of the SAGE Handbook of Performance Studies (2006, SAGE). Madison lived in West Africa as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and has conducted field research over the past ten years on the performance tactics of local human rights activists in Ghana.