Representation in Ethnography / Edition 1

by John Van Maanen

Overview

For the past decade the function of the ethnographer's work has been challenged. Ethnographic texts are now deconstructed for their origins, their biases and their literary devices, and the boundaries of the genre have been expanded through experiments in presentation.

This volume explores many of the dimensions of the representational challenge to contemporary ethnography. The contributors, well-known scholars in their field, cover such topics as: fieldnotes; the role of description, narrative, humour and acknowledgements; the relationship between ethnography and other forms of writing; and alternative means of presenting ethnographic work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803971622
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/18/1995
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Van Maanen holds a BA in political science from California State University, Long Beach, as well as an MS in social administration and a Ph D in sociology from the University of California, Irvine.

Table of Contents

An End to Innocence - John Van Maanen
The Ethnography of Ethnography
'Déjà Entendu' - Jean E Jackson
The Liminal Qualities of Anthropological Fieldnotes
Making a Study 'More Ethnographic' - Harry F Wolcott
Literary Journalism as Ethnography - Michael Agar
Exploring the Excluded Middle
On Acknowledgements in Ethnographies - Eyal Ben-Ari
Humor in Ethnographic Writing - Gary Alan Fine and Daniel D Martin
Sarcasm, Satire, and Irony in Erving Goffman's Asylums
Narrative and Sociology - Laurel Richardson
Performing the Text - Marianne A Paget
The Challenges of Postmodernism - Peter K Manning

Editorial Reviews

Contributing to the self-analysis of a discipline that no longer claims to describe cultures objectively, nine essays explore the representational challenges facing ethnography from such perspectives as fieldnotes, description, narrative, humor, acknowledgements, relationships to other forms of writing, and presenting ethnographic work in media besides writing. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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