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Goldsmiths Anthropology Department
Cover Sheet
StudentNumber
33145855 Claude Jousselin
College
Email
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.