Emily
Why do you think Mary Kingsley spent a large portion of her time giving detailed descriptions of scenery as opposed to the inhabitants themselves? What significance does this have on her report?

Ali
What do Kingsley's ideas seem to be on how ethnographic research should be done?

Juliet
"I did not know the Coast and the Coast did not know me, and we mutually terrified each other." Do you think Kingsly's ignorance of West Africa helped her through her journey, by allowing her an open mind?

Suzanne
It is clear that Kingsley does not particularly enjoy being in the conditions of West Africa and writes a rather negative albeit descriptive article about her travels. Should such strong opinions be incorporated into anthropological writings or do they hinder the author's argument and adversely effect the peoples/locations being represented by the anthropologist?

Laura
How does Kingsley's ethnographic experience differ in comparison to other anthropologists' in 1893?  Kinglsey truly immersed herself in her work, ultimately building trusting, dependent relationships with the natives and traders, defying the expectations of her peers who originally cited West Africa as both a "white man's grave."  How did Kingsley achieve this great success?

Shane
Do you think because Kingsley was so detached from people and had troubles forming relationships, she was better able to take a neutral look into her surroundings and portrayed it without a biased view?

Lauren
Why do you think it was so important to Kingsley to live with the natives of West Africa and put herself in all of these dangerous situations in the region's forests?

Tom
Kingsley's details much of what she saw on her steamboat ride, as a reader who has never been to West Africa (or Africa for that matter), how much can I assume to have been embellished or even left out? How can I know that this reading accurately depicts the region?

Rebecca
"...she defended polygamy, extolled the virtues of cannibal tribes and even spoke out in support of the liquor trade..." (7).  The introduction to the article discusses Mary Kingsley's unique views, stemming from her independence of mind and person.  Do you think that maybe her strong feelings of independence could have caused her to be a bit outrageous in shaping her beliefs (such as the ones listed in the excerpt above)?

Scott
Kingsley writing resembles that of a memoir or a travel blog.  What societal factors lead to Kinglsey's writing being popular? Who read this? What conclusions did the readers make from this reading?  How does the emergence of travel blogs affect the way most people see other cultures and the study of anthropology as a whole?

Michelle
A quote that I found interesting within the reading was "I give him a wad of tobacco, and he plainly regards me as inspired, for of course that was what he wanted. Remember that whenever you see a man, black or white, filled with a nameless longing, it is tobacco he requires. Grim despair accompanied by a gusty temper indicates something wrong with his pipe, in which case offer him a straightened-out hairpin." In the beginning of the quote, it seems to be a racially equal quote, in which power is given to the substance in which both white and black men have lost power to. However, the white man seems to gain power by having the "superior" way to smoke. Are there other discrete (and mostly unintentional) examples of white supremacy within the text?

Liz
Why do you think Mary opposed some of the common conventions for the women of her time while also embracing other conventions (e.g. woman’s attire)?

Bijal
On page 5 it says, "moreover she believed that to come among the 'unadulterated Africans' as a trader provided an immediate and recognizable link between her world and their own." Do you think this was a good approach for ethnographic research?

Simone
Do you think that Frazer’s lack of direct experience with the cultures he discusses hinders his ability to construct theories about them?

Hannah
It seems that while Frazer attempts to explain the link between myth and religion, his attempts come across as judgmental and critical, was one of his golas to not only explain but also to discredit these cultures and religions?

Christina
Are his numerous examples helping or hurting his argument?
Would his tone throughout the piece help or hurt him during the time it was written?  What about now?

Allison H.
Considering all of the examples that Frazer has cited and that he has most likely never been to any of these places or seen these rituals, can his conclusions be deemed as valid?

Danielle
Where do all these ideas come from and start? Why do people keep believing ideas when there is no evidence that these practices are true?

Scott
Frazer seems to tackle the question of magic in human society by using several secondary sources found around the world. Obviously, his results are limited since he never witnessed first hand what these rituals entailed.  However, nobody has the time, or money to learn several languages and witness cultures first hand. What kinds of questions could anthropologists attempt to answer effectively? Can anthropologists attempt to tackle universal questions like magic? What is the perfect balance between own field work and secondary sources?