The Role of Reflexivity in Ethnography Essay -- Anthropology Science E

The case of Reflexivity in EthnographyReflexivity, as I understand it, is actu each(prenominal)y well named.It is the practice of reflecting upon oneself and ones work, of being self-aware and self-critical. In anthropology, it is well exemplified by the work of Renato Rosaldo, Ruth Behar, and Dorinne Kondo, among others. In its most pellucid form (or at least the form most obvious to me), reflexivity is manifest in the practice of an ethnographer including herself in her own ethnographic research---seeing herself not as an unbiased, impartial (Mali promptlyski 18) observer, but as an essential and un-removable part of her study. The rig of reflexivity on ethnographic writing has been, how ever, much broader than just that. It signals a departure from the ideology of objectivity and distance which for so long pervaded ethnography (Marcus 189). For those who choose to employ it, reflexivity offers the (often daunting) liberty of not presuming to have all the answers. While this o bviously presents logistical problems for anthropology (such as If we discountt ever come to an answer, then whats the point?), reflexivity has had a yield in producing some of the most compelling, unassuming texts that Ive read.Anthropology is, in my opinion, not a science.Its simply not that static. Culture is not something that can be understood the way one can understand solemness or electricity.It is open for interpretation, open for many different interpretations, and I a homogeneous(p) it that way. Im immediately turned off by an ethnographer who claims to jazz the truth about his subject frankly, I dont gestate it. And even if something is true for a given culture at a given time, whos to say it wont have altogether changed in five years? I think that formulating a... ...e only one, and that no one ethnographer can prove that theyve gotten a culture any to a greater extent than any one else (197).Again, this brings me back to the then whats the point? problem. In my opinion, what we need are more interpretations of cultures. In that case, there is even more of a need for the work that we do as ethnographers. The point is genuinely larger now than it was before. How much would critical thinking be facilitated if we had something comparison with and be critical about? Any interpretation of culture is deserving looking at because, since a human thought it up, its within our realm of study. As Rosaldo writes, the truth of objectivism---absolute, universal, and timeless--- has lost its monopoly status (21). The goal now is to find a reflexive, self-critical medium between objectivism and self-indulgence. I feel like we might actually get there.