November 12-14: Wide or deep? Two ethnographies about Southwest China
| ANTH 565: ETHNOGRAPHY AS SCIENCE AND LITERATURE November 12-14: Wide or deep? Two ethnographies about Southwest China |
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This week's books are Erik Mueggler's The Age of Wild Ghosts and my Ways of Being Ethnic in Southwest China, both of which came out at about the same time and deal with the same part of the world. Choose one to read carefully, and then read the chapters here from Ghosts or Ways. There are two differences, as Sara Davis points out in her magnificent review: those of depth vs. breadth, and of interpretive vs. scientific approach. We will deal with two issues concerning the books in our single class session on Wednesday. Breadth vs. Depth Ways of Being Ethnic may or may not be an example of what George Marcus, in a famous article, unfortunately christened "multi-sited ethnography." Those who have read this book should post on whether you think Marcus's ideas are applicable to criticism of my book or not. If so, apply them; if not, say why they are not applicable. Non-readers can post any impressions they may have. Either way, please resist the temptation toward apple-polishing. Treat my book, and my other one coming up three weeks hence, just like you would treat any other. Science and Interpretation Davis makes a comparison of the two books that is very telling along a lot of dimensions. Post on whether you agree with her evaluation or not, and why. Alternatively, a thread running through the whole course has dealt with scientific vs. literary value. Literary value and interpretive approach are not necessarily the same thing, as Davis also points out. You may compare the two works purely as literature, if you want. |