The Village Of Dorro Ntika Summary

The book, The Dobe Ju/'hoansi is a great example of an ethnography. It is a very detailed description of every aspect of the San people's life. From the environment they inhabit to the food they eat, the book goes into great detail on how these people survive. More importantly, the book describes their personal relationships with each other and other band level societies, marriage and sexuality topics, and how they solve disputes. Personally, I feel the attention directed towards their interpersonal relationships, was the key in understanding these Ju/'hoansi's way of life. Some of the most important topics mentioned in the ethnography are the foraging for a living, their marriage and sexuality, and conflicts, politics, and exchange.

Ethnography is a qualitative method of research in which the researcher takes part in the activities of a group such that they are able to complete their observations over a period of time in a natural, real-life environment.

As we begin to go on an excursion through literature, it is important to understand the concept of what an ethnography is. Ethnography is known to be a descriptive type of work that analyzes culture and customs of individual people. James Clifford has implemented this work into his studies and has influenced many others to do the same. I saw through the books I have read, ethnography makes these books become vivacious for a reader.

The Dobe Ju/’hoansi is an ethnography written by Richard B. Lee. In this ethnography, Richard B. Lee reports on a group of peoples living in South Africa. The ethnography covers everything from their foraging plans, how and what they hunt, how the animals they hunted are divided among the people, kinship and organization in the group, marriage and sexuality, conflict and politics, the exchange of goods, and religion. This paper is just going to touch on a few of these different topics.

Anthropology, as a discipline in the field of human sciences, is based on certain ethical principles to guide its practitioners through their research. This creates a stable framework on which to start any research project. Avoiding deviation, however, can be complicated. Anthropologists have a responsibility to their field,

Malinowski explains within Argonauts of the Western Pacific that the appropriate conditions for ethnographic work entails cutting yourself off from familiar company and completely immersing yourself within the community you are studying. He describes “remaining in close contact with the natives…which can only be achieved by camping right in their villages.” Malinowski also states that the ethnographer must have “real scientific aims”, and must understand the significance of the scientific method, such as how to collect and manipulate

‘Ethnography is branch of anthropology which has aided social researchers in the quest for a deeper understanding of different societies, social groups or cultures’ (Hammersely, 1995p365). The purpose this essay is to gain an insight into the problems that researchers encounter when the try to gain access to certain fields they wish to investigate. There are many obstacles associated with this research approach and invariably can impact on the outcome of the

Basically, it’s when an anthropologist conducts research by immersing themselves into a community instead of just reading about a society. The ethnographic method employs what is known as “participant observation,” which is fieldwork done by both observing and participating in an event. To gain information through the ethnographic method, an anthropologist can conduct both formal and informal interviews, and gain both qualitative and quantitative data. An example of a formal interview would be a sit down interview with a town official with structured questions, whereas an informal interview might be a dinner with a local family and gaining information by just talking to them and holding a

One of the techniques and or methods that Margaret Mead used in her fieldwork was direct interviews, here she sat down with people of the Island of Ta'u and asked them questions. Often this type of research caused answerers to lack depth, a issue anthropologist Derek Freeman accused her when she wrote Coming of Age in Samoa. In addition to direct interview Margaret Mead also used a technique known as participant observation. Here Margaret participated in the culture she was doing research on as well as simply observing it. Finally participatory approach was another method use by Margaret here she lived withing the community, eat as they did, acted as they did and shares this life with the world through their ethnography. Do to the lack of

The ethnographer must engage their subjects in manners that other fields do not; whereas reporters and documentarians might perform interviews, probably centered on one central topic, and leave once they have enough information to pen a good summary, ethnographers go further. Their jobs entail looking at the one central topic, but then connecting it to another element of life for their subjects, and then another, and so on. Ethnographers experience firsthand what their subjects live out on a daily basis, so that they may add their own perspectives and realize their own biases as far as certain aspects and issues go. Whereas people in other fields disperse and find their way back home after one round of discussions with locals, ethnographers stay even longer, subjecting themselves to the natives’ living conditions, engaging in more discussions and discovering more facts and, more importantly, stories.

Generally, I agree with the principles of this article. At first, let’s look at what is ethnography. According to the definition in the website Wikipedia:

Modern anthropology has come a long way when comparing it to the 19th and 20th century armchair anthropology. Instead of a laid back approach it has become more hands on. To properly study and observe another culture there are steps an anthropologist must take. One, understand what you are trying to accomplish out of this and what your goal is. Secondly, the ethnographer should put themselves in “good conditions of work” (Malinowski 1922:6). This meaning that he/she should live among the native’s with no interruptions from outsiders. Thirdly, the ethnographer must be able to explain all data that was collected. In order to not get a biased view an ethnographer must be trained. We cannot have “untrained minds, unaccustomed to formulate their thoughts with any degree of consistency and precision… full of the biased and prejudged opinions inevitable in the average man” (Malinowski 1922:5).

Throughout this Introduction to Anthropology course, we covered many important topics and their relevance to anthropology. Almost every week, we focused on one specific topic and completed a field exercise relating to that topic. Through these fieldwork exercises, I learned that thinking on the spot, being constantly aware of your own bias, and writing efficiently are all important skills that are essential for anthropologists. Although each skill presents its own challenges, such as speaking without preparation, recognizing your own bias, and turning in flawed field exercises, it is important to work through those challenges to improve these crucial skills.

In the study of cultural anthropology, fieldwork is a big factor in coming to a conclusion about one’s topic of research. After reading articles from both Raybeck and Faubion, it is clear that fieldwork may not be the only component to drawing conclusions about cultures. There are multiple factors within fieldwork itself that aids in drawing conclusions as expressed by Raybeck but the main conclusions an anthropologist comes up with is from analyzing the data that was found.

Ethnography: Ethnography is a naturalistic, time consuming research that have its origin attached to the field of anthropology (Saunders et al., 2009). Researcher using this