Critical Ethnography

Method, Ethics, and Performance
Third Edition
D. Soyini Madison
Critical Ethnography
February 2019 | 272 pages | Sage US
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Description

"Critical Ethnography is a rare and beautiful synthesis of deft theorizing and principled pragmatics. The complexities of ethnography demand a grasp of both theory and practice, but rarely have they come together so clearly and completely as in this passionately written text. I especially appreciate the thoughtful attention to the intellectual roots of the critical tradition in ethnography, and to the way students are rigorously led through the methodological consequences of critical epistemology."

 —Judith Hamera, Texas A&M University

"I would strongly recommend this book for use in any course that explores the role of critical analysis in research. This book thoughtfully discusses and teaches about trying to understand the meanings attributed by others in regard to their expertise."

—Amy Paul-Ward, Florida International University

What is critical ethnography? How do we use theory to interpret research data? What is performance ethnography? Readers can find answers to these fundamental questions in D. Soyini Madison's engaging and highly multidisciplinary Third Edition of Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. 

The book presents a fresh new look at critical ethnography by emphasizing the significance of ethics and performance in the art and politics of fieldwork. The productive links between theory and method are celebrated in this title. 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 "enact" the interdependence between theory and method and the significance of social theory, ethics, and performance.




Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

  • Chapter 1 • Introduction to Critical Ethnography: Theory and Method
  • Defining Terms: What Is the Critical in Critical Ethnography?
  • Dialogue: Virtues and Challenges
  • The Method and Theory Nexus
  • Key Terms
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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 a Part of an Interpretive Community
  • The Power of Purpose: Bracketing Your Subject
  • Preparing for the Field: The Research Design and Lay Summary
  • The Interview
  • Formulating Questions
  • Questions to Get Started: Experience, Opinions, Feelings, and the Senses
  • Creativity, Questions, and Three Favorites
  • Memory and the Oral History Interview
  • Rapport: How and What Is This Between Us?
  • Coding and Logging Data
  • A Biomimetics of Ethnography
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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
  • Chapter 4 • Ethics
  • Ethics Is . . .
  • Ethics, Faith, and Environmental Activism
  • The Question of Freedom
  • Maria Lugones: Contemporary Ethics, Ethnography, and Loving Perception
  • Summary
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 5 • Methods and Application: Three Case Studies in Ethical Dilemmas
  • Case 1: Local Activism in West Africa
  • Case 2: Secrets, Sexuality, and Oral History
  • Case 3: Community Theatre: Conflicts and Organization
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 6 • Performance and Performed Ethnography
  • Foundational Concepts in Performance and Social Theory
  • Utopian Performatives
  • The Performance Interventions of Dwight Conquergood
  • Staging Ethnography as Performed Ethnography
  • Autoethnography and/or Reflexive Ethnography
  • Autoethnography in Performance as Critical Reflections
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 7 • 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
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 8 • The Case Studies
  • Case 1: Staging Cultural Performance
  • Case 2: Oral History and Performance
  • Case 3: Fieldwork and Social Drama
  • Warm-Ups

References

References

Index

Index

About the Author

About the Author

Description

"Critical Ethnography is a rare and beautiful synthesis of deft theorizing and principled pragmatics. The complexities of ethnography demand a grasp of both theory and practice, but rarely have they come together so clearly and completely as in this passionately written text. I especially appreciate the thoughtful attention to the intellectual roots of the critical tradition in ethnography, and to the way students are rigorously led through the methodological consequences of critical epistemology."

 —Judith Hamera, Texas A&M University

"I would strongly recommend this book for use in any course that explores the role of critical analysis in research. This book thoughtfully discusses and teaches about trying to understand the meanings attributed by others in regard to their expertise."

—Amy Paul-Ward, Florida International University

What is critical ethnography? How do we use theory to interpret research data? What is performance ethnography? Readers can find answers to these fundamental questions in D. Soyini Madison's engaging and highly multidisciplinary Third Edition of Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. 

The book presents a fresh new look at critical ethnography by emphasizing the significance of ethics and performance in the art and politics of fieldwork. The productive links between theory and method are celebrated in this title. 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 "enact" the interdependence between theory and method and the significance of social theory, ethics, and performance.




Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

  • Chapter 1 • Introduction to Critical Ethnography: Theory and Method
  • Defining Terms: What Is the Critical in Critical Ethnography?
  • Dialogue: Virtues and Challenges
  • The Method and Theory Nexus
  • Key Terms
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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 a Part of an Interpretive Community
  • The Power of Purpose: Bracketing Your Subject
  • Preparing for the Field: The Research Design and Lay Summary
  • The Interview
  • Formulating Questions
  • Questions to Get Started: Experience, Opinions, Feelings, and the Senses
  • Creativity, Questions, and Three Favorites
  • Memory and the Oral History Interview
  • Rapport: How and What Is This Between Us?
  • Coding and Logging Data
  • A Biomimetics of Ethnography
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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
  • Chapter 4 • Ethics
  • Ethics Is . . .
  • Ethics, Faith, and Environmental Activism
  • The Question of Freedom
  • Maria Lugones: Contemporary Ethics, Ethnography, and Loving Perception
  • Summary
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 5 • Methods and Application: Three Case Studies in Ethical Dilemmas
  • Case 1: Local Activism in West Africa
  • Case 2: Secrets, Sexuality, and Oral History
  • Case 3: Community Theatre: Conflicts and Organization
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 6 • Performance and Performed Ethnography
  • Foundational Concepts in Performance and Social Theory
  • Utopian Performatives
  • The Performance Interventions of Dwight Conquergood
  • Staging Ethnography as Performed Ethnography
  • Autoethnography and/or Reflexive Ethnography
  • Autoethnography in Performance as Critical Reflections
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 7 • 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
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 8 • The Case Studies
  • Case 1: Staging Cultural Performance
  • Case 2: Oral History and Performance
  • Case 3: Fieldwork and Social Drama
  • Warm-Ups

References

References

Index

Index

About the Author

About the Author

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Critical Ethnography

Method, Ethics, and Performance

D. Soyini Madison
Cancel Print

February 2019 | 272 pages | Sage US

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"Critical Ethnography is a rare and beautiful synthesis of deft theorizing and principled pragmatics. The complexities of ethnography demand a grasp of both theory and practice, but rarely have they come together so clearly and completely as in this passionately written text. I especially appreciate the thoughtful attention to the intellectual roots of the critical tradition in ethnography, and to the way students are rigorously led through the methodological consequences of critical epistemology."

 —Judith Hamera, Texas A&M University

"I would strongly recommend this book for use in any course that explores the role of critical analysis in research. This book thoughtfully discusses and teaches about trying to understand the meanings attributed by others in regard to their expertise."

—Amy Paul-Ward, Florida International University

What is critical ethnography? How do we use theory to interpret research data? What is performance ethnography? Readers can find answers to these fundamental questions in D. Soyini Madison's engaging and highly multidisciplinary Third Edition of Critical Ethnography: Methods, Ethics, and Performance. 

The book presents a fresh new look at critical ethnography by emphasizing the significance of ethics and performance in the art and politics of fieldwork. The productive links between theory and method are celebrated in this title. 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 "enact" the interdependence between theory and method and the significance of social theory, ethics, and performance.





Table Of Contents:

  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1 • Introduction to Critical Ethnography: Theory and Method
  • Defining Terms: What Is the Critical in Critical Ethnography?
  • Dialogue: Virtues and Challenges
  • The Method and Theory Nexus
  • Key Terms
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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 a Part of an Interpretive Community
  • The Power of Purpose: Bracketing Your Subject
  • Preparing for the Field: The Research Design and Lay Summary
  • The Interview
  • Formulating Questions
  • Questions to Get Started: Experience, Opinions, Feelings, and the Senses
  • Creativity, Questions, and Three Favorites
  • Memory and the Oral History Interview
  • Rapport: How and What Is This Between Us?
  • Coding and Logging Data
  • A Biomimetics of Ethnography
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 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
  • Chapter 4 • Ethics
  • Ethics Is . . .
  • Ethics, Faith, and Environmental Activism
  • The Question of Freedom
  • Maria Lugones: Contemporary Ethics, Ethnography, and Loving Perception
  • Summary
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 5 • Methods and Application: Three Case Studies in Ethical Dilemmas
  • Case 1: Local Activism in West Africa
  • Case 2: Secrets, Sexuality, and Oral History
  • Case 3: Community Theatre: Conflicts and Organization
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 6 • Performance and Performed Ethnography
  • Foundational Concepts in Performance and Social Theory
  • Utopian Performatives
  • The Performance Interventions of Dwight Conquergood
  • Staging Ethnography as Performed Ethnography
  • Autoethnography and/or Reflexive Ethnography
  • Autoethnography in Performance as Critical Reflections
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 7 • 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
  • Warm-Ups
  • Chapter 8 • The Case Studies
  • Case 1: Staging Cultural Performance
  • Case 2: Oral History and Performance
  • Case 3: Fieldwork and Social Drama
  • Warm-Ups
  • References
  • Index
  • About the Author

Recent Product Reviews:

“Critical Ethnography is, without question, the go-to guide, practically and philosophically, for anyone interested in serious discussions about ethnography's ethical, political, and epistemological implications. Madison's thoughtful and compelling book has long been central to the ways in which I work with my graduate students and undergraduates on the benefits and challenges of thinking ethnographically, and this 3rd edition makes her classic offering all the more relevant for newer audiences. I look forward to assigning it in courses!”
John L. Jackson, Jr, University of Pennsylvania
“This remains the book I wish I had written. It is grounded in fieldwork and theoretically inclusive from Conquergood to Turner, Spry to Schechner, Pollock to Pelias, Boal to Bakhtin, auto ethnography to critical performance ethnography. Politics, ethics, action, memory, biopolitics, performative writing, the global, inquiry as praxis, it is all here.”
Norman Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
“This book is indispensable. No other book shows the essential connections between method and ethics so clearly and effectively. It is as much an essential introduction to ethnography as it is an enticing invitation to a way of being in the world with others.”
Della Pollock
“D. Soyini Madison’s work is the keystone of ethical performance ethnography where all practices in the field and on the stage are grounded in enfleshed theories of embodiment. The third edition of Critical Ethnography continues this scholarly foundation by offering emergent strategies to guide us through troubling times and into spaces and places of hope and possibilities.”
Tami Spry, St. Cloud State University
“The latest edition of Critical Ethnography exemplifies D. Soyini Madison¹s exemplary ability to combine rigorous theorizing and principled field pragmatics. From its expansive discussions of ethics and handling difficult interviews to its deeply generative examinations of mindfulness in the field and multi-sensory storytelling using a variety of aesthetic modes, this book is an essential guide for critical interdisciplinary qualitative researchers at all levels. It is both a toolkit and an inspiration.”
Judith Hamera, Princeton University

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