"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.
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
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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
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Chapter 4 • Ethics
Ethics Is . . .
Ethics, Faith, and Environmental Activism
The Question of Freedom
Maria Lugones: Contemporary Ethics, Ethnography, and Loving Perception
Summary
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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
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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
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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
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Chapter 8 • The Case Studies
Case 1: Staging Cultural Performance
Case 2: Oral History and Performance
Case 3: Fieldwork and Social Drama
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References
Index
About the Author
