Show What is fieldwork? Have anthropologists always engaged in fieldwork? Why is it important to anthropology? Fieldwork is among the most distinctive practices anthropologists bring to the study of human life in society. Through fieldwork, the social anthropologist seeks a detailed and intimate understanding of the context of social action and relations. Fieldwork in a previously unfamiliar setting has among its aims a deep understanding that encompasses as much as possible of an ‘insider’s’ perspective. Conducted in a more familiar setting, it can lead the anthropologist – and those for whom he or she writes – to look at everyday reality in new and unexpected ways. Where fieldwork is conducted within museums, archives, or cultural institutions, the process can be similar in that the social anthropologist seeks to understand the underlying symbolic and cultural meanings of a text, or a collection of objects. Equally, biological anthropologists frequently base research projects on human remains or artefacts held in museum collections.
Fieldwork can take many different forms, shaped by factors such as: the topic of investigation, questions guiding the research, where the research will be carried out, who is funding it, external political or economic factors, the age, sex or ethnicity of the anthropologist, the technological facilities available. Newer formats for research, such as use of multiple sites and the study of large-scale centres of power such as intergovernmental organisations, are becoming increasingly common; as is the use of visual technologies and methods of presentation such as film, photography and digital media. What are some of the fieldwork methods anthropologists adopt? Anthropologists may assemble data in numerous ways. They may gather quantitative information by conducting surveys or analysing records such as historical archives, government reports and censuses. Quantitative data is often useful for biological anthropologists in mapping physical traits within a population, or making cross-population comparisons. Quantitative information is also useful and often necessary when anthropologists work on interdisciplinary projects with other specialists. However, for the most part social anthropologists concentrate on gathering qualitative data. They do so by conducting individual and group interviews, by undertaking oral histories, through online discussion forums and, most importantly, through the Malinowskian tradition of ‘participant observation’. Participant observation enables the social anthropologist to undertake detailed, lengthy and often complex observations of social life in fine detail. It may be directed to such disparate groups as a virtual network, a tribal village, or an activist group in an urban environment. By participating in the fabric of daily life as well as more formal ceremonies and rituals, and discussing his/her developing ideas with willing members of the community (sometimes termed ‘informants’) the fieldworker builds up a progressively deeper understanding of what is happening. Many fieldworkers find this a personally transforming experience. A variant of participant observation also exists within biological anthropology, where primatologists may analyse the social dynamics of a monkey or ape society by spending long periods observing the group and being to some extent accepted by it. However, the crucial difference is that only human beings can talk to the anthropologist and reflect on their society through language. What do anthropologists do with the material they have collected?Anthropologists may write up their data in reports, articles, or journal contributions. Where the project is interdisciplinary or team-based, these may be co-authored. Alternatively, they may describe their experiences and findings in the form of
an ethnography. Recommended Resources Films Doing Anthropology - a film about anthropologists from MIT undertaking fieldwork in different social contexts. Anthropological Fieldwork in a Gurung village – Professor Alan Macfarlane speaks of his fieldwork in the Himalayas. Strangers Abroad Series – Central Television’s major documentary series directed by anthropologist Andre Singer and presented by Bruce Dakowski. The series looks at the first anthropologists to move away from ‘armchair theorising’ and go out to live among the peoples who interested them.The series includes:
Ethnographic Fieldwork: An Anthropological
Reader Being There: Fieldwork in Anthropology (Anthropology, Culture and Society) Why is long term fieldwork important in anthropology?Why is it important to anthropology? Fieldwork is among the most distinctive practices anthropologists bring to the study of human life in society. Through fieldwork, the social anthropologist seeks a detailed and intimate understanding of the context of social action and relations.
What is the main method anthropologists use to collect data while doing fieldwork?An important tool for gathering anthropological data is ethnography—the in-depth study of everyday practices and lives of a people.
What perspective do anthropologists use?The key anthropological perspectives are holism, relativism, comparison, and fieldwork. There are also both scientific and humanistic tendencies within the discipline that, at times, conflict with one another.
What is anthropological fieldwork?Fieldwork is. investigation in anthropology where the researcher stays in or visits the place of investigation. for long periods of time, not less than a year, receives firsthand experience and collects data. Powdermaker defines fieldwork as “the study of people and of their culture in their natural. habitat.
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