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    Goldsmiths Anthropology Department

    Cover Sheet

    StudentNumber

    33145855 Claude Jousselin

    College

    Email

    [email protected]

    Degree

    Programme

    MA in Anthropology of Health

    and the body in the 21st

    century

    Year ofCourse

    2008-2010

    Course

    code and

    name

    AN71014A Anthropological

    Theory and Methodology

    Essay

    Deadline

    6/03/09

    SubmissionDate 4/03/09

    Are you

    dyslexic?

    No

    Essay or Assignment Title

    Compare and contrast Malinowskis description

    of fieldwork with George Marcuss

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    Imagine yourself suddenly set down surrounded by your electronic

    communication gear in a busy but familiar city centre; you start your

    ethnographic work without delay but your attempt to establish contact

    with your gatekeepers on the other side of the globe is thwarted by the

    lack of internet connectivity. Frustrated but with no alternatives youbegin observing the people around you and notice that you speak the

    same language and share similar tastes, habits, hopes and imaginations.

    However their use of technical jargon, their bureaucratic organisation

    renders these familiar surroundings into a foreign milieu. Still unable to

    establish contact with New York and Tokyo, you take the underground to

    the central library where you start archiving through back issues of

    official annual reports searching for connections and links between

    various events. Just as you feel despondent with the work at hand, you

    receive a text confirming your appointment with the chief executive ofXXX; at last you feel you are making headway.

    Whilst describing a present-day situation, this mise-en-scene reaches to a

    literary style that aims for a relational affect on the reader, one used by

    Frazer (1900) and Malinowski (1922) to great effect in popularising their

    ethnography. This persuasive fiction (Strathern 1987: 256) brings the

    reader into the field, keeping their interest, but more importantly it

    provides the means to bring scenes to life [...] and life to ideas

    (Strathern 1987: 257), so that new ideas and perceptions become more

    than travel writing. In the second part of this essay I will return to

    Malinowskis presentation techniques of fieldwork including his use of

    photography. But the opening scenario, putting aside its form, has also in

    its content a geography of space and time that sits firmly in the present.

    Based on the multi-sited fieldwork model put forward by Marcus (1988)

    it provides the greatest of contrast with the thoroughly focused fieldwork

    described in the Argonauts(Malinowski 1922) . I will also explore how

    the concept of the other has become blurred and more complex since

    the literary turn and with Marcus I will question what kind of cultural

    translation could be produced from a natives point of view whilst at

    home and what method would uncover it.It is important to keep in mind that Malinowskis and Marcuss thoughts

    on fieldwork evolved through their lifespan in the context of their

    respective changing world and were not static. Malinowski was

    associated with salvage anthropology from his early work but later on

    in his career he came to reflect and register that the Europeans [have at

    times] exterminated whole island peoples; that they expropriated most of

    the patrimony of the savages races; that they introduced slavery in a

    specially cruel and pernicious form (Malinowski 1945 cited by Scheper-

    Hughes and Bourgois 2004: 7)

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    Marcus, still publishing today, is developing his thoughts away from

    textual concerns into fieldwork and research designs, and thus despite the

    century separating them, is moving closer to the core of Malinowskis

    claim of fame. But we should not compare the incomparable and keep in

    mind the different social contexts which informed the authors respectivereflexivity and beware of reconstructing [heroes] within the frame of our

    own sensibilities: ancestors who are also contemporaneous are creatures

    of myth (Rapport 1990: 8). It is with these limitations in mind that I

    wish to start by setting first Malinowski, then Marcus fieldwork

    descriptions in the context of their approach to ethnographic research

    designs and aims.

    Malinowski made his positivist stance clear throughout his career with

    his quest to establish anthropology as a truly scientific discipline widelydocumented (Stocking 1992, Leach 1966). In the introduction of

    Argonauts (Malinowski 1922) he provides the reader with principles by

    which ethnography can truly be identified as scientific:

    only such ethnographic sources are of unquestionable scientific

    value, in which we can clearly draw the line between, on the one

    hand, the results of direct observation and of native statements and

    interpretations, and on the other, the inferences of the author, based

    on his common sense and his psychological insight (Malinowski

    1922: 3)

    Through his reference to ethnographers as prospectors (Malinowski

    1989 (1967):155) and links to archaeology ( Malinowski 1922:24) we see

    his vision of ethnology as extracting, unearthing culture from under

    layers of apparently meaningless behaviours. Malinowski proclaimed

    this his mission, a scientific approach that had been so far lacking in his

    predecessors. This self promotion as the bringer of change contributed to

    his status as the founder of ethnographic fieldwork and while his

    influence on ethnographic methods post 1922 is undeniable, others before

    him had paved the way (Urry 1972 ).Establishing a scientific

    anthropology was for Malinowski a step towards a new humanism(Malinowski 1989(1967):255), one whose undertaking would be to

    preserve and explore the cultures of the world before time runs out.

    (Malinowski 1922:xvi). This urgent work, that needs to be done for the

    sake of humanity, is the detection of civilisation under the savagery

    (Strathern 1987:256). Malinowski aimed to demonstrate that there was as

    much science and superstitions in the natives as there are in the

    Europeans and that humanity is universal if you look close enough. To do

    this, the ethnographers goal will be to grasp the native's point of view,

    his relation to life, to realise his vision ofhis world. (Malinowski1922:25)

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    Malinowskis scientific claim, preservationism and remoteness from the

    object of study have all been thoroughly challenged since the 1960s post

    colonial introspections and the 1980s critiques led by Marcus amongst

    others. The ethnographic gaze shifted from the strange native to the

    researchers persona and rapport was no longer to be established with theother but with ones reflexive positioning. In particular Marcus work

    in Writing culture (1986) highlighted how ethnographic writing

    techniques influence the objective description of the field so as to

    persuade the reader of the veracity of the description thus challenging the

    authority of the ethnographer. Two decades later this reflexivity has

    become common practice within ethnography making the formulation of

    a clear ethnographic mission statement impossible, in the way that

    Malinowski felt able to do. The attentiveness towards influential links

    between ethnographer, informant, academia, funding streams, politicaland historical contexts has fragmented the picture and made previous

    certainties redundant; there are no new ideas and none on the horizon, as

    well as no indication that its traditional stock of knowledge shows any

    sign of revitalization-structuralism, functionalism, the study of kinship,

    etc (Marcus 2008:3) Meanwhile Marcuss interest refocused towards

    engaging ethnographically with history unfolding in the present, [] to

    anticipate what is emerging. (Marcus 2008:3)The aim of fieldwork is no

    longer to salvage the others culture from the grasp of time but to

    capture new and changing cultural forms that are taking place in the

    contemporary. For this purpose, according to Marcus, specific methods

    for doing fieldwork developed, paying particular attention to the

    geographic and temporal positioning of the ethnographer such as ; muli-

    sitedness of fieldwork, collaborative rapport with informants,

    juxtaposition of phenomena which would otherwise be worlds apart and

    finally an engagement with historical forces. This I will attempt to

    illustrate through the work of A. Mol The logic of care (Mol 2008.)

    True to Marcus description of anthropologys future as lying within

    disciplinary crossovers (Marcus 2008), Mol is a philosopher whoseinterest lay in health and medicine and who uses fieldwork to inform her

    arguments; through her encounter in everyday health care Mol builds up

    case studies that inspire generalisation and theory. Her recent research

    focuses on contrasting patients choice with good care and through the

    reality of living with diabetes in the 21st century in the Netherlands she

    discusses the significance of her findings within a wider stage. Mol

    argues that increasing patients choice transforms patients into

    autonomous customers, which interferes with good care, particularly

    whilst suffering with chronic illnesses. Citizens owe their ability tomake their own choices to the silence of their organs (cited by Mol

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    2008:31). She explores with diabetic patients and clinicians how their

    therapeutic encounter is based on need rather than choice and how this is

    constantly adjusted, re-evaluated, doctored, defining this as the logic of

    care; a slow, messy, collaborative process and one devoid of happy

    endings.Her conclusions are the results of research that was conducted in a

    number of sites; an outpatient clinic where she observed consultations

    between doctors, nurses and patients; meetings and conversations with

    diabetes specialists, journalists, colleagues; analysis of the content of

    various texts/websites relating to healthcare companies and their

    commercial strategies; interviews of patients and relatives in their homes

    and doctors in their offices. This allows her to explore connections and

    contradictions between the discourses and forces involved with patients

    choice on a wide policy stage and on the local body of patients.This use of multi-sited fieldwork is at the core of Marcus description of

    fieldwork, a move away from the dualistic and simplistic view of them

    and us and translates in more complex ways the cultural expressions that

    are to be found through this process. It is a juxtaposition of location in

    which the ethnographer establishes some form of literal, physical

    presence, with an explicit, posited logic of association or connection

    among sites that in fact defines the argument of the ethnography

    (Marcus1998:90). Marcus and Holmes develop the concept of para-

    ethnography (Marcus and Holmes 2005) to describe the narratives,

    translations and meaning-making formulated by non-anthropologist in

    regards to their lived experiences. This forms the basis for the

    collaboration between the ethnographer and their co-researchers: Instead

    of turning professionals and patients into our objects of study, we rather

    drew upon their skills as co-researchers. They offered us knowledge:

    knowledge about treatment of, and life with, diabetes (Mol 2008:10).

    There is a heartening lack of value distinction between the knowledge

    produced by specialists and by mere mortals in her vision which contrasts

    with Marcus focus in exposing the knowledge production of experts or

    counterparts. There are realms in which the traditional informants ofethnography must be rethought as counterparts rather than others- as both

    subjects and intellectual partners in inquiry. (Marcus and Holmes

    2005:236). Mols positioning clearly advocates for good care and

    demonstrates the omnipresent reflexivity that is integral to Marcus vision

    of fieldwork. It is good to underline that patient and philosopher are

    by no means mutually exclusive categories. I am not immortal or

    immune to disease. And your normality, dear reader, is not presupposed

    here either. (Mol 2008:11) Finally, the biological process of chronic

    illnesses requires an engagement with unfolding time. Mol describes howthe reliance of patients on modern technologies and treatments is defined

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    in time blocks, with their daily lives punctuated with medical activities

    without which their lives would end, to the extent that the treatment of

    and life with diabetes are not two separate things. (Mol 2008:10)

    In contrast with the fluidity of fieldworks representation shown above,

    Malinowskis research is framed in an atemporal moment we call theethnographic present (Stocking 1992:54). Malinowski aimed to

    represent the Trobiand society, in its minute details, so thoroughly that it

    would become meaningful within its own context with no need to call on

    historical understanding. Whilst this was a departure from the

    evolutionist approach of its predecessors it resulted in giving a

    representation frozen in time, a petrified relation with the other

    (Fabian 1983:143). This is illustrated by looking at specific methods

    Malinowski advocated and put in place for his fieldwork; the spatial

    positioning of the ethnographer and the principles for collecting,manipulating and fixing his evidence (Malinowski 1922:6). Malinowski

    used photography extensively during his fieldwork in the Trobiand,

    approximately 1100 images were taken, to fix his evidence and try to

    give the local colour and describe the nature of the scenery and mise-en-

    scene to the best of [his] ability. (Thornton 1985:8) As described in his

    diaries and fieldnotes (Young 1998:8) Malinowski clearly saw

    photography as complementary to his other descriptions, providing

    propinquity in a way only images can. As a side effect it increased the

    sense of distance with the subjects, that was not dispelled when

    Malinowski included himself in the frame. As with his writing,

    photography was a media that Malinowski could control for the benefits

    of his claims, through the mise-en-scene of his subjects and his own self-

    promotion with his presence in a number of pictures. He strategically

    used the pictures in the Argonauts (Malinowski 1922) to illustrate

    elements of the imponderabilia of actual life, which he was gathering

    through living in the village with no other business but to follow native

    life (Malinowski 1922: p18). This immersion in the field is a crucial

    aspect of Malinowskis principles of research; to communicate in the

    local language, building rapport, being present to capture events as andwhen they happen and using what could be described as unstructured

    interview techniques. Malinowskis diary shows he spent considerable

    amount of time sitting with the Trobianders, being there and listening to

    conversations and gossips. This presence in the field has become part of

    the mystique of the ethnography, the element anthropology is mostly

    known for and replicated by generations of researchers until recently, as it

    could be argued that this ethnographers magic is missing in the

    experience of multi-sited fieldwork presented by Marcus. Is this the result

    of decades of reflexivity within the discipline, of intense soul searchingleading to self consciousness in the presence of the

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    other/collaborator/counterpart? The publication of Malinowskis diary

    certainly helped the demise of this mystique, providing ample

    ammunition to his critics who saw him working with enormous industry

    in one world, while living with intense passion in another. (Geertz cited

    in Malinowski (1989) (1967): xxv). Nevertheless his diarys emotionalvoice is in total contrast to the controlled tone of his scientific

    monographs and gave a private view of the chaos of fieldwork. As a

    personal journal it could be seen more sympathetically as a safety valve

    to the strain of his frustrations and isolations in the field.

    Imagine further that you are a beginner (Malinowski 1922:4).

    How relevant is Malinowskis description of fieldwork to the

    contemporary student of ethnographic method? It is an integral part of

    the academic teaching program in anthropology and in this way it is apoint of reference. Through challenges which have faced anthropology

    since Malinowskis Argonauts, ethnography has remained its hallmark,

    evolving and adapting to a different level of complexity. Paraphrasing

    Frazer (Malinowski 1922: ix) Malinowskis description of fieldwork

    seems flat rather than round, one dimensional in its spatial and temporal

    positioning. Nevertheless the aura that he created around the physical act

    of reaching towards people to gain knowledge has remained true to

    generations since. It is why the scene of encounter I referred to in the

    introduction, is the strongest link between Malinowskis and Marcus

    description of fieldwork; the most enduring trope of ethnography

    (Marcus 2007:8). It has taken many textual forms since Malinowski

    called on our imagination, but still it provides the stamp of authenticity

    marking the formal start of a research, giving the sense of discovery

    unfolding. In this way Martin has recently taken the scene of encounter to

    a personal space, a scene enacted with herself and her own suffering in

    her recent work into mania and depression (Martin 2009). This

    challenged her to adapt her methodology and whilst her diagnosis gave

    her access to knowledge, the stigma attached to it often stopped her from

    recording in situ. She adds to her multi sited fieldwork on the East andWest coast of America, an inner site which contributes to her

    understanding of the historical and cultural significance of suffering from

    Bipolar Disorder. Whilst both Marcus and Malinowski, a hundred years

    apart, expressed pessimistic view as to the future of ethnography (Marcus

    2008:3, Malinowski 1922:518.), this last example I will argue illustrates

    that the scope for its reinvention are limitless.

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    Bibliography

    BooksClifford and Marcus (Ed) (1986) writing culture, Berkeley: Universityof California Press.

    Fabian, J (1983) Time and the other, New York: Columbia UniversityPress.

    Frazer, J (1900) The golden bough London

    Malinowski, B - (1922) Argonauts of the western pacificNewYork, George Routledge and Sons.- (1989 (1967)) a diary in the strict sense of the

    term, London: The Athlone Press

    Martin, E (2009) Bipolar Expeditions Princeton: Princeton University

    Press.

    Mol, A (2008), the logic of care,New York: Routledge

    Marcus, G (1998) Ethnography through thick and thinPrinceton:Princeton University Press

    Marcus, G and Holmes (2005) Cultures of expertise and themanagement of globalization in Ong, A and Collier, S (Ed) Global

    Assenblages, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Stocking, G (1992), the ethnographers magic, Wisconsin: WisconsinUniversity Press

    Strathern and Bourgois (Ed) (2004) introduction in violence in war andpeace, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing

    Young, M (1998) Malinowskis Kiriwina Chicago: The University ofChicago Press.

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    Journal Articles

    Marcus, G - (2002) beyond Malinowski and after writing

    culture The Australian Journal of Anthropology, January 2002.- (2007) Ethnography two decades after writing

    culture Anthropological Quarterly, October 2007- (2008) the end(s) of ethnography Cultural

    anthropology 23(1) 1-14

    Leach, E (1966) Frazer and Malinowski, Current Anthropology 7(5)560-576.

    Rapport, N surely everything has already been said about Malinowskisdiary. Anthropology today 6(1) 5-9

    Strathern, M (1987) out of context: the persuasive fictions ofanthropology, Current Anthropology 28(3) 251-281

    Thornton,R ( 1985) Imagine yourself set down, Anthropology today1(5) 7-14

    Urry, J (1972) Notes and Queries on anthropology and the development

    of field methods in British Anthropology 1870-1920, Proceedings of theroyal anthropological institute of Great Britain and Ireland 1972 45-57.