Title: Why Ethnography Is Important - Owlcation
Headings: Why Ethnography Is Important
Why Ethnography Is Important
What is Ethnography?
Understanding Cultural Differences
Missionary Work & The Development of Ethnography
Ethnography & Changing Perspectives
Franz Boas: Cultural Relativism
Bronisław Malinowski: Participant Observation
Margaret Mead: Reflexivity
Ruth Benedict: The Essence of Culture
E.E. Evans-Pritchard: Judging Premises, Not Beliefs
© 2013 Melanie Shebel
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Zande warriors
What is Ethnography? Ethnography is the description of cultures and the groups of people who live within them. It can be useful in personal adaptation, personal success, and to better understand other cultures. A prime example of using ethnography for success is in US foreign relations, particularly where the work of anthropologist Ruth Benedict was used in deciding how to handle the rebuilding of Japan after the end of WWII. General MacArthur, after listening to Benedict, chose to keep the emperor of Japan on his throne. This was particularly useful in initializing a working peace in Japan during the post-war period and is a source of the positive relationship the United States has with Japan today. Understanding Cultural Differences
Understanding other cultures is of major importance in ethnography. People from a different culture may do something that is not only different from what we do but is something we might instantly consider to be “weird” and “messed up” without considering the source of the difference. For example, the Azande people who live in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the South Sudan, have beliefs in witchcraft. The Azande believe that disease and (other human misfortune) is caused by the ill will of others.