Ethnographies: Learning About Ourselves and Others
With the field of Anthropology comes many hours spent writing reports on observations made during research. As a future anthropologist, I will have to become well acquainted with the writing genre of ethnography. Ethnographies are reports made on cultural studies of varying groups of people. This genre of writing tends to have in-depth qualitative details collected during fieldwork. Ethnographies serve as sources of information to those wanting to learn more about or study different aspects of different cultures. I will be analyzing the use of evidence, the organization, and the use of ethos/logos/pathos within various ethnographies.
Many ethnographies serve to expose readers to concepts that are foreign to them, or seem completely ridiculous at first glance. The purpose of these ethnographies is to show readers that while some practices may seem strange or “wrong” to them, they are a common occurrence within the communities that conduct them and hold greater meaning to the people who participate in them than an outsider may assume. One such ethnography that provokes these thoughts is “Arranging a Marriage in India” by anthropologist Serena Nanda. The article was written as a report on Nanda’s findings during her time in India. As stated in the report, “In India, almost all marriages are arranged”. Many people outside of India would be appalled by this information. It may be seen as an infringement on one’s own freewill and freedom in choice in who to marry. Some people will only focus on the phrase “arranged marriage” and immediately deem it to be unethical and morally wrong. For the people in India, however, arranged marriages are a deeply rooted part of their culture and lead people to happy and successful relationships.
The author begins the article by expressing her own doubts on the subject, similar to what many readers may think. Nanda supplements her explanation on the importance of arranged marriages in the Indian culture through the use of quotes from those in the process of finding a match, those that have been married, and those whose parents are searching for a match for them. The quotes serve to help warm readers up to the idea of arranged marriages by showing them how much confidence Indian people have in their parents to find them potential spouses. “ My parents would never arrange a marriage for me without knowing all about the boy’s family background.”(Nanda 2). Nanda organizes the article chronologically. She takes the readers through her time in India, from when she was appalled by the idea of arranged marriages, to six years later when she helped set one up and felt proud for being successful in her assistance. “My friend’s son and the girl were getting married. Since I had found the match, my presence was particularly requested at the wedding. I was thrilled. Success at last!” (Nanda 5). Nanda uses logos as she presents the readers with facts and logic with the undeniable fact that arranged marriages can be and often are successful; very rarely resulting in divorce. “In a society where divorce is still a scandal and where, in fact, the divorce rate is exceedingly low, an arranged marriage is the beginning of a lifetime relationship not just between the bride and groom but between their families as well.” (Nanda 2). Nanda reinforces the idea that marriages are not taken lightly, and are in fact, arranged by the parents with their children’s best interests in mind.
Much unlike the preconceived notion that some people may have, ethnographies are not limited to detailing studies conducted on people from far away countries, but can also be based off of studies conducted within one’s own country, state, city, or even neighborhood. “Baseball Magic” by George Gmelch is such an example. A study was conducted on baseball players and their pre-game rituals. Gmelch dispelled any ideas that rituals were limited to religious or faith-based practices and showed the readers that we ourselves practice rituals on a daily basis, whether or not we realize it. Gmelch conducted a study within the MLB and recorded some of the most interesting rituals he heard about.
The article is laden with examples and quotes from players on their rituals performed for good luck. “One ritual associated with hitting is tagging a base when leaving and returning to the dugout between innings.” (Gmelch 2). Gmelch organized the information by category, separating routine and ritual from fetish and taboo. This organization serves to explain all the different categories of practices, routine and ritual being something performed, fetishes being material objects that bring “good luck”, and taboos being things that bring “bad luck”. All categories are spoken on with great consideration to what they each mean to not only baseball players, but to the general population as a whole. On the topic of fetishes, one player spoke about a rock he picked up, stating “...I look at the rock and remember to keep my focus...” (Gmelch 3). The article carries a light tone, offering moments of speculation and moments of humor; both of which serve to reel in the audience through an effective use of pathos and bring them to a greater understanding of what rituals are by presenting them with a familiar example that hits close to home.
Just as ethnographies can cover topics surrounding one’s own country and those surrounding outside countries, they can cover topics surrounding multiple countries at once. Ethnographies that provide information on multiple countries seek to make comparisons and find similarities within separate cultures from varying geographical and social (among other) contexts. “Our Babies, Ourselves” by anthropologist Meredith Small seeks to offer comparisons between different groups of people and their approaches to child rearing and parenting. Not only does the ethnography seek to compare parenting methods, but also to explain them, and show how the context of where and by whom the children are being raised can affect the methods implemented.
What this particular ethnography lacks in quotes used as evidence, it makes up for with research gathered by other anthropologists and experts on human studies. Each example provides a different culture’s approach to parenting and why these methods may have come about. “In the United States, for example, where individualism is valued, parents do not hold babies as much as in other cultures…Japanese parents, in contrast, believe that individuals should be well integrated into society, and so they “indulge” their babies…” (Small 107). The article is organized through the presentation of varying anthropologists’ research results and reports throughout the main body to serve as objects of comparison to each other. This organization disrupts the main body but does not take the reader on a tangent; instead supplementing the information given by providing other outside takes on the topic of raising children. The ethnography urges readers to put aside their ethnocentric thinking and to consider the context of the families raising their children before placing judgement on their methods used. “Infants’ care is shaped by tradition, fads, science, and folk wisdom.” (Small 111). There is a clear use of pathos in getting the reader to understand that all children will be raised according to what is their societal norms, and not necessarily the reader’s own.
In conclusion, ethnographies inform readers by presenting different ideas and points of view on varying aspects of varying cultures and help the readers gain a greater understanding of what they once may not have fully understood. While each ethnography serves to inform the readers about different aspects of different groups of people, they all have the same theme. This theme is to get readers to become aware of the diversity of human culture and to gain a greater appreciation of it. All of the ethnographies begin by introducing an idea and addressing the popular opinions of said idea head-on. Immediately afterwards, they all tell the stories of other people and how they feel about those ideas. This organizational pattern is present throughout all examples in order to help shift the reader’s view from their own to that of the people they are reading about. The last thing that is present throughout all of the examples is the use of persuasive appeals, namely logos and pathos. Each ethnography seeks to help the reader gain a greater understanding of a culture. The most effective way to do that is as shown in each of the examples; through facts, logic, and emotions. By presenting the reader with these things, the author creates a strong argument to get their point across.
Works Cited:
Many ethnographies serve to expose readers to concepts that are foreign to them, or seem completely ridiculous at first glance. The purpose of these ethnographies is to show readers that while some practices may seem strange or “wrong” to them, they are a common occurrence within the communities that conduct them and hold greater meaning to the people who participate in them than an outsider may assume. One such ethnography that provokes these thoughts is “Arranging a Marriage in India” by anthropologist Serena Nanda. The article was written as a report on Nanda’s findings during her time in India. As stated in the report, “In India, almost all marriages are arranged”. Many people outside of India would be appalled by this information. It may be seen as an infringement on one’s own freewill and freedom in choice in who to marry. Some people will only focus on the phrase “arranged marriage” and immediately deem it to be unethical and morally wrong. For the people in India, however, arranged marriages are a deeply rooted part of their culture and lead people to happy and successful relationships.
The author begins the article by expressing her own doubts on the subject, similar to what many readers may think. Nanda supplements her explanation on the importance of arranged marriages in the Indian culture through the use of quotes from those in the process of finding a match, those that have been married, and those whose parents are searching for a match for them. The quotes serve to help warm readers up to the idea of arranged marriages by showing them how much confidence Indian people have in their parents to find them potential spouses. “ My parents would never arrange a marriage for me without knowing all about the boy’s family background.”(Nanda 2). Nanda organizes the article chronologically. She takes the readers through her time in India, from when she was appalled by the idea of arranged marriages, to six years later when she helped set one up and felt proud for being successful in her assistance. “My friend’s son and the girl were getting married. Since I had found the match, my presence was particularly requested at the wedding. I was thrilled. Success at last!” (Nanda 5). Nanda uses logos as she presents the readers with facts and logic with the undeniable fact that arranged marriages can be and often are successful; very rarely resulting in divorce. “In a society where divorce is still a scandal and where, in fact, the divorce rate is exceedingly low, an arranged marriage is the beginning of a lifetime relationship not just between the bride and groom but between their families as well.” (Nanda 2). Nanda reinforces the idea that marriages are not taken lightly, and are in fact, arranged by the parents with their children’s best interests in mind.
Much unlike the preconceived notion that some people may have, ethnographies are not limited to detailing studies conducted on people from far away countries, but can also be based off of studies conducted within one’s own country, state, city, or even neighborhood. “Baseball Magic” by George Gmelch is such an example. A study was conducted on baseball players and their pre-game rituals. Gmelch dispelled any ideas that rituals were limited to religious or faith-based practices and showed the readers that we ourselves practice rituals on a daily basis, whether or not we realize it. Gmelch conducted a study within the MLB and recorded some of the most interesting rituals he heard about.
The article is laden with examples and quotes from players on their rituals performed for good luck. “One ritual associated with hitting is tagging a base when leaving and returning to the dugout between innings.” (Gmelch 2). Gmelch organized the information by category, separating routine and ritual from fetish and taboo. This organization serves to explain all the different categories of practices, routine and ritual being something performed, fetishes being material objects that bring “good luck”, and taboos being things that bring “bad luck”. All categories are spoken on with great consideration to what they each mean to not only baseball players, but to the general population as a whole. On the topic of fetishes, one player spoke about a rock he picked up, stating “...I look at the rock and remember to keep my focus...” (Gmelch 3). The article carries a light tone, offering moments of speculation and moments of humor; both of which serve to reel in the audience through an effective use of pathos and bring them to a greater understanding of what rituals are by presenting them with a familiar example that hits close to home.
Just as ethnographies can cover topics surrounding one’s own country and those surrounding outside countries, they can cover topics surrounding multiple countries at once. Ethnographies that provide information on multiple countries seek to make comparisons and find similarities within separate cultures from varying geographical and social (among other) contexts. “Our Babies, Ourselves” by anthropologist Meredith Small seeks to offer comparisons between different groups of people and their approaches to child rearing and parenting. Not only does the ethnography seek to compare parenting methods, but also to explain them, and show how the context of where and by whom the children are being raised can affect the methods implemented.
What this particular ethnography lacks in quotes used as evidence, it makes up for with research gathered by other anthropologists and experts on human studies. Each example provides a different culture’s approach to parenting and why these methods may have come about. “In the United States, for example, where individualism is valued, parents do not hold babies as much as in other cultures…Japanese parents, in contrast, believe that individuals should be well integrated into society, and so they “indulge” their babies…” (Small 107). The article is organized through the presentation of varying anthropologists’ research results and reports throughout the main body to serve as objects of comparison to each other. This organization disrupts the main body but does not take the reader on a tangent; instead supplementing the information given by providing other outside takes on the topic of raising children. The ethnography urges readers to put aside their ethnocentric thinking and to consider the context of the families raising their children before placing judgement on their methods used. “Infants’ care is shaped by tradition, fads, science, and folk wisdom.” (Small 111). There is a clear use of pathos in getting the reader to understand that all children will be raised according to what is their societal norms, and not necessarily the reader’s own.
In conclusion, ethnographies inform readers by presenting different ideas and points of view on varying aspects of varying cultures and help the readers gain a greater understanding of what they once may not have fully understood. While each ethnography serves to inform the readers about different aspects of different groups of people, they all have the same theme. This theme is to get readers to become aware of the diversity of human culture and to gain a greater appreciation of it. All of the ethnographies begin by introducing an idea and addressing the popular opinions of said idea head-on. Immediately afterwards, they all tell the stories of other people and how they feel about those ideas. This organizational pattern is present throughout all examples in order to help shift the reader’s view from their own to that of the people they are reading about. The last thing that is present throughout all of the examples is the use of persuasive appeals, namely logos and pathos. Each ethnography seeks to help the reader gain a greater understanding of a culture. The most effective way to do that is as shown in each of the examples; through facts, logic, and emotions. By presenting the reader with these things, the author creates a strong argument to get their point across.
Works Cited:
- Gmelch, George. “Baseball Magic.” Society, vol. 8, no. 8, June 1971, p. 39. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ed (Cited from FIU Libraries)
- Nanda, Serena. Arranging A Marriage In India.
- Meredith F. Small. Our Babies, Ourselves. 1998.