Define ethnography? Discuss post-modern ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative research method used in social sciences, particularly in anthropology and sociology, to study people and cultures.
It involves observing, documenting, and analyzing the customs, behaviors, beliefs, and social structures within a particular group or community. Ethnographers typically immerse themselves in the culture they are studying, often spending extended periods living among the people they are observing, in order to gain a deep understanding of their way of life.
Post-modern ethnography emerged as a response to criticisms of traditional ethnographic methods, which were seen as imposing the researcher’s biases and perspectives onto the cultures being studied. Post-modern ethnography seeks to deconstruct traditional notions of objectivity and truth in research, recognizing that all knowledge is subjective and influenced by the researcher’s positionality and perspective.
Key characteristics of post-modern ethnography include:
- Reflexivity: Post-modern ethnographers acknowledge their own subjectivity and actively reflect on their role in shaping the research process. They often include personal reflections and narratives in their work to highlight their own biases and perspectives.
- Multiple voices: Post-modern ethnography emphasizes the importance of incorporating multiple perspectives and voices, including those of the research participants, in the research process. This may involve collaborative research methods or giving participants more control over the direction of the research.
- Contextualization: Post-modern ethnographers emphasize the importance of understanding research findings within their broader social, political, and historical contexts. They recognize that knowledge is constructed within specific power dynamics and seek to uncover and analyze these dynamics in their research.
- Fragmentation: Post-modern ethnography challenges the idea of a unified, coherent narrative of culture, instead embracing the fragmented and contradictory nature of social reality. Researchers may present multiple, conflicting perspectives in their work, rather than trying to reconcile them into a single narrative.
Overall, post-modern ethnography represents a shift away from the idea of objective, universal knowledge towards a more reflexive and critical approach to understanding cultures and societies. It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and embracing the complexities and uncertainties inherent in the research process.