Danielle
Do you think that the object of the Kula is to show one's status or rank since men try to out do one another or do you think that it is truly about being a generous giver? What does it say about the Kula that the gifts have to be of certain value?

Meagan
Was Malinowski less biased than Frazer and Kingsley, or is his bias  
simply more implicit?

Simone
Why do you think that even after years of living with and studying the people of the western pacific, Malinowski still refers to them as savages?

Gabriela
Malinowski writes, "In each culture, the values are slightly different: people aspire after different aims, follow different impulses, yearn after a different form of happiness." How does this statement make you feel? Do you think that by exploring other cultures we accentuate the differences between us or do we discover similarities that bring us closer together?

Christina
Based on section two, do you think he carried out his research in the manner that he so authoritatively mandates in his first section?  In what ways did he?  Were you able to see any places where he didn't?

Juliet
The author describes how translating his accounts from the native language, "often robbed the text of all its significant characteristics." This made me wonder what an ethnographer does when there exists such a large language barrier? Does the ethnographer translate the text? Does he attempt to explain what it means even though there is no equivalent? Does it accomplish anything if he leaves it in the native language, especially when the majority does not speak the language?

Rebecca
While reading Malinowski's piece, I found myself concentrating on how he conducts his research and encourages research to be executed: "And by means of this natural intercourse, you learn to know him, and you become familiar with his customs and beliefs far better than when he is a paid, and often bored, informant" (7).  I had also just seen our writing assignment for Friday, for which we must do ethnographic observations.  I am wondering if it is possible to do ethnographic at Lafayette College as Malinowski would have expected.  In Malinowski's study, he was a complete stranger to the natives.  Is it possible to integrate ourselves completely into a community within a larger population that is already accustomed to us?

Lauren
“The Ethnographer has in the field, the duty before him of drawing up all the rules and regularities of tribal life; all that is permanent and fixed; of giving an anatomy of their culture, or depicting the constitution of their society… But not even in human mind or memory are these laws to be found definitely formulated… The natives obey the forces and commands of the tribal code, but they do not comprehend them (pg. 11).” In a situation like this where the natives cannot comprehend the reason for their behavior, the Ethnographer has to observe and draw conclusions himself. In this case, would the Ethnographer’s research be considered accurate if he evaluates and draws a conclusion about the natives’ behavior based off his own standards without any insight from the natives themselves? How would he really know if his conclusions were correct if the natives, whose behavior he is studying, could not agree or disagree with his theory? How would you go about evaluating this kind of research?

Liz
“They know their own motives, know the purpose of individual actions and the rules which apply to them, but how, out of these, the whole collective institution shapes, this is beyond their mental range. Not even the most intelligent native has any clear idea of the Kula as a big, organized social construction” (83).  Do the natives really lack this intelligence or is this merely an ethnocentric claim made by Malinowski? If so, does Malinowski’s ethnocentrism color his accounts of the natives?

Scott
Malinowski does not give the native people much credit when he says "they have no knowledge of the total outline of their social structure".  But doesn't that apply to all peoples, not just "indigenous" tribes? Do you think an anthropologist/sociologist can effectively and objectively study a particular culture s/he is a part of?  If so, is it better to study your own culture/groups or ones that you are not part of?

Hannah
what effects has technology had on ethnographic work? in my opinion the use of photographs to accompany writing, makes understanding the melanesian culture easier, have their been any negative effects?

Shane
One big point that seems to be stressed within the reading is the idea of not bringing any preconceptions or opinions into the field with you. Do you think that it is fully possible to go into a new environment that you are studying and remain completely unbiased? What are ways to help minimize these preconceptions?

Ali
At times Malinowski appears to be open-minded and encourages ethnographers to go into the field with no preconceived notions; however, at other times Malinowski appears to be quite prejudiced.  What impression of Malinowski does the reader get at the end of this selection?

Bijal
During class last week we debated whether of not it was necessary to travel in order to observe the culture or group of people you are studying in their natural environment. Did this article make you feel as though travel was necessary?

Michelle
Malinowski states, "in historical science, no one could expect to be seriously treated if he made any mystery of his sources and spoke of the past as if he knew it by divination" (3). What makes a source credible? What gives Malinowski more credibility than others? How many eye witnesses or sources does one need to provide "plausible" information?

Tom
On pages 10-11 Malinoski says "Thus the first and basic ideal of ethnographic field-work is to give a clear and firm outline of the social constitution, and disentangle the laws and regularities of all cultural phenomena from the irrelevances." Though I believe this is possible to do when researching a small group of people, how can an ethnographer follow this "first and basic ideal" when researching a group which is very large or diverse, or which possibly has no real social construction, or perhaps regularities are not common throughout the group of people? Is a group which cannot be clearly defined a group which should not be ethnographically researched?


Brittany
Why does the author believe that studying primitive groups and showing the shocking contrasts to our culture is positive for ethnographic research?

Laura
In the piece, Mead states, "For such studies the anthropologist chooses quite simple peoples, primitive peoples, whose society has never attained the complexity of our own" and how "it is possible to learn many things about the effect of a civilization upon the individuals within it" (7-8).  What does this presumption imply?  Why are such "less complex" civilizations considered the ideal for an anthropologist?  

Laura
How does Mead's observations on the Samoan social structure enforce its gender roles?

Emily
Mead presents what seems like an atypical day. On the second page, she tells of a cry that signifies a death in one's family. This seems not like a regular day, but a special event. Why do you think Mead does this instead of portraying a typical day in Samoa?

Bijal
Mead says, "Samoa's lack of difficult situations, of conflicting choice, of situations in which fear or pain or anxiety are sharpened to a knife edge will probably account for a large part of the absence of psychological maladjustment." Do you agree with this statement?

Liz
The author suggests that when studying “primitive” societies, unlike when studying complex societies, preliminary study of the society is not necessary.  Is it possible for an anthologist to completely understand a culture without having any previous knowledge of it?

Rebecca
This chapter provided a ton of detail for the reader with some really helpful adjectives.  I never realized how details of setting are so essential to ethnographic research.  Without it in this piece, I would not have had such a vivid image in my head to accompany the information given in later sections.

Stacey
It seems as though the Samoa people have set ways.  Can they be altered?  Can their routine be changed?

Ali
Should Americans take a page from the book of Samoans when it comes to sexual relations of teenagers?  It obviously occurs in the United States, but it is considered much more taboo here than in Samoa.  What are the benefits of having the Samoan attitude towards teenage sex?

Gabriela
"Our children grow up to find a world of choices dazzling their unaccustomed eyes."   "The Samoan child faces no such dilemma."  What do you think of these statements?

Juliet
The author says that a "trained student can master the fundamental structure of a primitive society in a few months." Why would it be easier to master a society with no written language? wouldn't it be harder to master the society because there is no background knowledge what so ever? Or does this make it easier? Further, who is the author to say that this society is more simple than our own? Who gets to decide what constitutes simple?

Tom
While segregating the sexes may seem to be bizarre to Americans, the concept is actually practiced in less extreme forms-- American boys and girls separate themselves from one another very frequently at the high school level through private "all boys" or "all girls" high schools. Could these unique four year of a developing young man or young woman's life have lasting lifelong effects?

Kyle
In her introduction Mead says the only method in which to conduct a "human experiment" where we are able to find controlled examples of what takes place in our own civilization is to act as an anthropologist and study human beings under different cultural conditions in another part of the world. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

Meagan
Do you think Mead was successful in portraying the adolescence of  
teenage girls in Samoa as separate yet equal to that of teenage girls  
in America?
("And her great dilemma is whether to live with her father or her  
uncle, a frank, straightforward problem which introduces no ethical  
perplexities, no question of impersonal logic.  Nor will her choice be  
taken as a personal matter as the American girl's allegiance to the  
views of one relative might be interpreted by her other  
relatives." (141) )