During my undergraduate career, I chose to make one of my minors Cultural Anthropology, as my department required us to have at least one complementary area of study per degree major. I LOVED the courses, the professors, and the research! For someone like myself, an inquisitive and kinesthetic learner, this academic and professional field encompassed numerous passions; and often, correlated with social justice concerns of classism, equity, health-care, etc. In one course, we were required to read Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities, written by Alexandra Robbins, an author who “’[went] undercover as a participant” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 374) for an academic year investigating the processes and “rituals” of sororities (in the historically white, National Panhellenic Conference). This book exposed me to ethnography, an immersive research method intended to “understand how members of other cultures interpret their world” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 379) without values imposition from the researcher(s).
Ironically, I saw the film Salt this weekend (Side note: HIGHLY RECOMMEND!), a movie directly related to a hindrance of the ethnographic method: deception. Because the main character (Salt), played by Angela Jolie, “took [a] covert role” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 379) as a United States CIA agent (her real identity was lived as a Russian Spy), she struggled with deceiving both her husband (Mike) and her colleagues. In addition, she resisted the Russian regime where she, and numerous children, were reared and manufactured to annihilate the United Stated government. While I do not want to ruin the film for those who have not paid their $11.00 yet, I will say Salt’s mission as an “undercover” agent (i.e., “ethnographer”) becomes “so emotionally involved that [her] ability to make objective observations is threatened” (Trenholm, 2008, p. 379). If I were to study the “aspect of deception” through the lens of Jolie’s character, as an ethnographer, I would postulate this guided, research question:
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I too like the ethnographic research method. I like how you related it to the movie "Salt," I have yet to see it. After reading your post I definitely want to watch it. It seems to tie in with the whole Russian Spy saga that was going on for the last couple of weeks. Your research question is very interesting and I think it can be applied to other countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, where the US government is trying to make a presence.
ReplyDeleteEthnography seemed interesting to me because you observe behavior in a natural setting without imposing your values or assumptions on it. I just wrote out the dilemmas facing ethnographers and I think this may be one of the most difficult research methods, since you are trying to keep your prejudices aside while experiencing a culture!!!