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" Illumination " : Participant Observation in Critical Ethnography
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Stumpf, Jeanne Marie |
| Copyright Year | 2015 |
| Abstract | This paper considers participant observation methodology involved in anthropology's quest to understand and describe the 'other'. My experience as an accidental tourist and my perception of the music festival subculture is used to explore quandaries of representation in a form that will demonstrate the nature of the culture being studied. Analyses of past and modern day fieldwork elucidate critical ethnography as an ever-changing process. Explored are the intricacies of distancing, grounding and multivocality in developing a holistic perspective. Evoking continuity as a guide inspires greater awareness and reaffirms the outcomes. " Illumination " : Participant Observation in Critical Ethnography " Culture is not something given but rather something to be gradually and gropingly discovered " (Edward Sapir 1934) describes my experience in attempting to uncover the workings of the music festival subculture. Immersing myself in a subculture in which I had no prior knowledge provided a task of interpreting the mystery and wonder happening around me. Naivete sent my mind spiraling. I felt like a kid in a candy store, Alice in Wonderland, or Charlie in the chocolate factory. My experience, termed " accidental tourism " by Jeanne Stumpf-Carome, led me to uncover bits of the inner and outer-workings of the music festival " scene ". The journey eventually led to my passion in anthropology and has influenced my view of participant observation methodology. Working six years in various positions within the context of a " music festival, " expanded my mind to encompass various perspectives and sculpted an objective scope, while also forming a connection and sense of belonging-both important factors when entering a culture to study. Not having prior experience in the music festival scene before working there 3 created an interesting dichotomy for me. On one hand I was at the beck of a new chapter of my life just waiting to be explored. On the other hand, I also had the responsibility of doing my job to attend to. My experience shaped a fragment of understanding of the inner and outer-workings of the subculture. Within the walls of the subculture lies a place where life is expressed freely, yet also constrained by a set of ideals—sharing, caring and illuminating the human experience. This context, along with my personal experience of working within the constructs of this scene, has offered me a dynamic perspective built by a freedom to explore. My emotion flows through this paper. It … |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://digitalcommons.kent.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=ugresearch |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
