The revised Second Edition of Critical Ethnography guides readers through theories, methods, and ethics of ethnographic research creating a confidence to complete fieldwork while demonstrating analytical and theoretical depth. This text highlights the productive links between theory and method and how both become more valuable as they interact through fieldwork. Theoretical concepts range from queer theory, feminist theory, and critical race theory to Marxism and phenomenology. The methodological techniques range from designing and asking in-depth interview questions and developing rapport to coding and interpreting data. The various theories and methods culminate in three fictional ethnographic case studies that guide readers on how to incorporate theoretical concepts with their interpretations and data analysis.
1. Introduction to Critical Ethnography: Theory and Method
Defining Terms: What Is the Critical in Critical Ethnography
Dialogue and Others
The Method and Theory Nexus
Summary
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2. Methods: "Do I Really Need a Method?" A Method . . . or Deep Hanging Out?
"Who Am I?" Starting Where You Are
"Who Else Has Written About My Topic?" Being Part of an Interpretive Community
The Power of Purpose: Bracketing Your Subject
Preparing for the Field: The Research Design and Lay Summary
Interviewing and Field Techniques
Formulating Questions
Two Classic Models
Extra Tips for Formulating Questions
Memory and the Oral History Interview
Attributes of the Interviewer and Building Rapport
Coding and Logging Data
Summary
Warm-Ups
3. Three Stories: Case Studies in Critical Ethnography
Case 1: Local Activism in West Africa
Case 2: Secrets, Sexuality, and Oral History
Case 3: Community Theatre: Conflicts and Organization
Warm-Ups
4. Ethics
Ethics Is . .
Religion and Ethics
The Question of Freedom
Critical Ethnography and the Ethics of Reason, the Greater Good, and Others
Maria Lugones: Contemporary Ethics, Ethnography, and Loving Perception
Summary
Warm-Ups
5. Methods and Ethics
Codes of Ethics for Fieldwork
Extending the Codes
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6. Methods and Application: Three Case Studies in Ethical Dilemmas
Case 1: Local Activism in West Africa
Case 2: Secrets of Sexuality, and Oral History
Case 3: Community Theatre: Conflicts and Organization
Warm-Ups
7. Performance Ethnography
Foundational Concepts in Performance and Social Theory
The Performance Interventions of Dwight Conquergood
Staging Ethnography and the Performance of Possibilities
AutoEthnography and/or Reflexive Ethnography
Three Examples of Critical Reflexivity in Autoethnography
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8. It's Time to Write: Writing as Performance
Getting Started: In Search of the Muse
The Anxiety of Writing: Wild Mind and Monkey Mind
Writing as Performance and Performance as Writing
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9. The Case Studies
Case 1: Staging Cultural Performance
Case 2: Oral History and Performance
Case 3: The Fieldwork of Social Drama and Communitas
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