Christina
"If classic ethnography's vice was the slippage from the ideal of detachment to actual indifference, that of present-day reflexivity is the tendency for the self-absorbed Self to lose sight altogether of the culturally different Other." Do you think one of these vices is inherently worse than the other?  Why?

Hannah
On page 8, Rosaldo says that "after all, one cannot predict beforehand what one will encounter in the field" when studying the Ilongot's was he predicting being able to relate the grief & rage related with headhunting?

Emily
Rosaldo calls for a "strict division of labor between the "detached" ethnographer and "his native"." Is it possible for an ethnographer to get too close to its subjects? Why and why not?

Brittany
Personal narratives that appear in the classic mode of ethnography are usually only found in prefaces, introductions, or in small and italicized font. Do you think this hurts or boosts the legitimacy of the ethnography? Why?

Liz
Do you feel that the analogy between the art museum and the garage sale is effective in describing the classic and current periods in anthropology? Is there a better analogy we could use?

Juliet
"Despite such exceptions as Wilson, the general rule seems to be that one should tidy things up as much as possible by wiping away the tears and ignoring the tantrums." Why do anthropologists shy away from emotions? Wouldn't emotion draw the reader in?

Kyle
The author writes, "For the lay person, such as myself, the main evidence of a problem is the simple fact that ethnographic writing tends to be surprisingly boring." Why do you think he would write this and what is your opinion on this statement? What is the best way to make anthropology exciting for the average reader?


Juliet
Several times throughout the reading the author describes his inability to understand the headhunting until he himself underwent a tragedy. It didn't bother me at first, but by the end of the reading I started to wonder if he was patronizing the reader. I have never experienced a tragedy like the one described. Does this mean that I don't understand headhunting and that I never will unless I face a tragedy? Do you think this is what he is implying?  


Bijal
On page 55 Rosaldo says, "The majority of intensive ethnographic studies have been conducted by relatively young people who have no personal experience of devastating personal losses... Such ethnographers probably have grown up with the notion that it is rude and intrusive to ask the chief mourners about their experience of grieving." Do you think it is necessary to have had an experience in order to do research on that particular experience?

Ali
On page 26 Rosaldo writes, "We should not impose our categories on other people's lives because they probably do not apply, at least not without serious revision". How does this relate to the Margaret Mead piece, "Coming of Age in Samoa"? Who has the "right" theory?

Simone
In the reading, Rosaldo describes how funny his in-laws thought his microethnography about their breakfast ritual was. Do you think that other cultures view ethnographies written about them as laughable?

Becca
Renato Rosaldo repeatedly refers to his deceased wife as "Michelle Rosaldo."  Why do you think he refers to her in this formal manner (first and last name), and how does this impact the piece?  Does it add to or take away from his points?

Shane
"Ethnographers begin research with a set of questions, revise them throughout the course of inquiry, and in the end emerge with different questions than they started with." Doesn't this contradict with the unbiased view that should be attained when going into the field?

Mary
"Ethnographers begin research with a set of questions, revise them throughout the course of inquiry, and in the end emerge with different questions than they started with" (7). How does an anthropologist reach a point in his work in which he feels that his research is complete?  Since culture is constantly changing, is this even possible?


Laura
Rosaldo proclaims: "the ethnographic perspective develops an interplay between making the familiar and the strange familiar: (39).  Is he asserting that this the only aspect in which ethnographic research develops? Why is that?

Suzanne
Should/do anthropologists take criticism from those they study seriously or should/do they disregard it?

Christina
"My personal experience serves a vehicle for making the quality and intensity of the rage in Ilongot grief more readily accessible to reader than certain more detached modes of composition." Does this work? Is it risky or effective?

Hannah
How can we look at the gap between the idiom of ethnography and the language of everyday life, to make ethnography something that can be used by the masses as opposed to just scholars?

Christina
"'Cultures' do not hold still for their portraits.  Attempts to make  
them do so always involve simplification and exclusion, selection of  
temporal focus, the construction of a particular self-other  
relationship, and the imposition or negotiation of a power  
relationship." Despite anthropologists' and ethnographers' best attempts, can the  
power dynamic in anthropological studies and ethnographies really be  
"written out?"  Cultures and documented words seem to intrinsically  
oppose one another, how is it possible to put in writing something  
that is ever-changing, when the writing is permanent?

Kyle
Clifford writes, "It is enough to mention here the general trend towards a specification of discourses in ethnography- who speaks? who writes? when and where? with or to whom? under what institutional and historical constraints?" What exactly does this mean? So you see a move towards these things in the works we have read? Why is this a good or bad thing for ethnography?

Ali
Clifford discusses how previous anthropologists "blurred the line between art and science" (p. 3).  In what ways in anthropology art? In what ways is it science?

Emily
Is "good" ethnography one that smoothed over complexities of a culture? Or is it okay to admit unanswered questions and let contradictions of ones fieldwork surface?

Shane
"They were curious, and eager for a new distraction." "the mixed prestige of arriving with the most auspicious guest(if not the guest of honor)" It seems that the writer seems to think that he is like a celebrity coming into this new town. If we were to have someone new that we saw around town, would we make it a big deal and act like its really exciting? Does this come off a bit self righteous?

Breyon
why is their a struggle between the styles of writing for ethnography? do we really want only one style of writing? is one style of writing the best way to communicate to your audience accurate and ethical information?

Bijal
On page 13 Clifford says, "The ethnographer's personal experiences, especially those of participation and empathy, are recognized as central to the research process, but they are firmly restrained by the impersonal standards of observation and 'objective' distance." Do you agree with the statement that ethnographers are firmly restrained by the impersonal standard?

Tom
Clifford says "It is difficult to say something systematic about fieldnotes..." Do you agree? Can you say something systematic about fieldnotes? Can you say something systematic about any notes? What does Clifford mean by systematic?

Danielle
On page 55, Clifford states, "Fieldnotes embody cultural facts apparently under the control of their inscriber." Does the fact that the inscriber has control over what aspects of a culture he or she portrays mean that we should be careful with what we believe? Do you think that they can portray a certain culture any way that they want to? How do we know what we should and should not believe?  

Suzanne
Clifford claims that ethnography is "true fiction" and that some believe that "cultural fictions are based on systematic, and contestable, exclusions. (p.6)" Do you agree? Is withholding/not including certain information considered "fiction" or lying?

Liz
The author argues that ethnographies are really only "partial truths" because it is not possible for anthropologists to talk about every aspect of a culture and they must therefore emit certain aspects when they write ethnographies. Are some ethnographies more "partial" than others? If so, does this affect whether or not they should be seen as good ethnography?

Laura
Clifford states: "Inscription is both the making and remaking of texts.  Writing is always to some degree rewriting" (54).  Is this true?  Is ethnographic writing no longer a form of individuality and originality?

Brittany
It is interesting that Clifford uses the description of three photographs to detail the way fieldnotes are written. How do you think this adds to or detracts from the rest of the essay?

Scott
Clifford claims that ethnography is "an emergent interdisciplinary phenomenon", or that ethnography is becoming important many other fields.  Assuming this is true, do we need anthropologists anymore? Can someone with no training in ethnography conduct effective, ethical ethnography?