Personal Journal Week 5

When reading "Putting Ethnographic Writing in Context" by Seth Kahn, I appreciate Kahn putting himself out there by describing how he learned from his mistakes made in his ethnography about the professor he highly respected.

I really enjoyed reading that ethnography is no longer looked upon as a science since a researcher will always be biased and might only see what they themselves are comfortable with, and therefore paint an unfair picture of a culture/person etc., something that has caused problems in the past.

I also think it is interesting that Kahn brings up two things to think about when it comes to ethnographic writing: "Ethnographers always have to remember that our work can have serious implications for our participants. As such, we share the responsibility to make those implications: (1) as positive as possible; and (2) collaboratively determined with our participants. "

I find it a little confusing that he writes that an ethnographer should be as objective as possible, and then follows up by saying that an ethnographer should try to angle his/her work as positive as possible. Isn't that in itself biased and could take away from an objective standpoint?

For me personally, I do find it difficult to stay completely objective in my writing about things I am too attached to, or passionate about. However, I find it reassuring as I read Kahn's conclusion saying "... you can only sort through these problems of representation and authority, and of collaboration and mutual respect, by writing your own way through them. Your writing, the feedback you get, and your revision processes will all make you see these problems as connected and complicated; keep writing, and you’ll find your way."

In "Participant Observation as a Data Collection Method" by Barbara B. Kawulich, we get to read about Frank Hamilton Cushing's participant observation with the Zuni Pueblo people. It was interesting to learn about the fact that it's easy to get too close to the culture one is trying to objectively observe. It said that when you become part of the culture in a sense that the members come to the observer for questions or include him in "gossip" it is time to conclude the research.

I found that interesting since I usually get too close to my interviewees for the paper I write for here in Santa Barbara. I get so into their stories that I find it hard not to become too friendly with them which is very unprofessional, just like it was for Cushing to become part of the culture to a point where he could no longer analytically write about it.

Kawulich brings up why participant observation as a data collection method can be so much more valuable than any other method. She states that "... it allows for richly detailed description, which they interpret to mean that one's goal of describing 'behaviors, intentions, situations, and events as understood by one's informants' is highlighted and it provides opportunities for viewing or participating in unscheduled events."

This reminds me of how a person can read anything, study a country or culture, but that it really isn't until he has experienced it himself that he can apply what he has learned. Nothing is ever the way we imagine it before it happens. We can make up a hundred scenarios in our heads about what a certain place would be like, and it doesn't matter how much we've read about it, because when we finally get there, it is completely different.

I know this is a wild idea, but in a perfect world, I would like to see funding for people to travel more for themselves in order to fully understand other cultures, to bridge the gaps between different ethnicities, cultures and classes. That would be a way of beginning to understand that we are all the same and deserve the same amount of respect and privileges. Anyway, I guess that's what ethnography is all about...