Emerson & Pollner – Feb 19, 2008, Week 7

(a) a one paragraph response to the piece,
Wow, this can be messy. It was interesting to read about how the fieldworker can change and be so personally impacted by the experience of being in the field. I wasn’t surprised that there are issues of problematic relationships that can develop and that respondents can feel slighted by the lopsided nature of the fieldworker informant relationship. I was surprised, however, by the account of the person studying a religious movement and getting caught up in the movement so much as to come to the “brink” of being swayed by the religion. I love the idea of a “controlled adventure”, but from reading this article, you have to be careful to maintain some degree of “control”.

(b) a summary of main points,
Intro - The focus of this article is on the feature of ethnographic fieldwork that makes it different from other social sciences which is the “embodied presence in the daily lives of those who host the research.”
Inclusive overtures
Boundary work – The major thrust of this article, in contrast with many others is focused on maintaining distance in order, essentially so the fieldworker doesn’t get caught up so much in being a participant that he/she forgets to be an observer. The article describes three ways that fieldworkers can get caught up in the participant role and gives tips on how to manage each of them.
Fieldworker as resource – The fieldworker may be seen as an expert in a given field and so be taken advantage of because of this.
Fieldworker as member – Some fieldworkers may “go native” which can impair the ability to be an objective observer.
Fieldworker as person – Personal relationships can be problematic, both intimate relationships and also personal criticisms can impact the fieldworkers ability to observe.
Managing inclusive overtures
Preempting – some overtures can be managed proactively.
Finessing – It is important to be socially tactful when the fieldworker distances him/herself.
Declining and withdrawing – There is a suggestion to use indigenous reasons to decline and withdraw to maintain rapport.
Subjective anchoring – One idea in this section was to use note writing as a reminder to self and to others of the role of the researcher.
Conclusion – While the major thrust of the article was along the theme of how to maintain necessary distance, the article concluded with observations about how informants play the part of the observed, “how hosts constitute themselves as objects of study.”

(c) key concepts, ideas & terminology used in the piece,
There is a continuum of participant\observer where some researchers are more actively participants and others are more distanced observers
Distance is something that can be “done” (and closeness as well)
The boundary between the fieldworker and field is “collaboratively constituted.”

(d) linkages you see to other class readings,
One linkage that jumped out at me is the idea that “You need to know who you are and what you are doing there.” in Lareau. On one level it seems obvious, but if your thoughts of the purpose of work focus only on research questions and not reflexively on who you are and your position in the field, you will run into the kinds of issues described in both of these articles.

(e) linkages you see to your own research,
I have joined a design team at Berkeley and University of Toronto as a volunteer. The group develops a wide range open source education technology applications for higher ed. The focus of the group is on usability and accessibility which is a perfect match to my own interests. The team meets primarily using Breeze for teleconferences. I’ve recently offered to do “contextual inquiries” for this group here in Seattle. I am hopeful that this may develop into a relationship where I can do research and write a dissertation around.

(f) a possible class discussion question or topic,
I will shameless propose a self-serving discussion topic which was alluded to in last week’s class discussion, but personally important to me.

Can the field consist primarily of my own computer if the group I’m interested in working with primarily meets through internet teleconference? How will this limit what I learn/observe?

(g) additional readings that you want to related to the piece you want to bring to everyone’s attention.

Industrial anthropology:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/05/anthro.html

Consumer anthropology:
http://www.ethnographicinsight.com/