Ethnography of the Particular

Ethnography of the Particular: Exploring Culture
Through Life Story.
In order to understand life in another culture,
anthropologists observe and interact with
individual people, often recording individual
life stories. However, as noted by David
MacDougall, so often the individual in the
finished ethnography is "left by the wayside on
the road to the general principle" [the Balinese
eat this; the Inuit believe that] leaving the
study of other cultures largely the study of
"Others" who lead somewhat homogenous timeless
lives free of contradiction, personal
relationships or responses to historical events.
As Lila Abu-Lughod stated when she coined the
phrase 'ethnographies of the particular', there
is much to be learned by studying the specific
experience of particular individuals because
"particulars suggest that people in other
cultures live as we perceive ourselves living,
not as robots programmed with 'cultural rules'
but as people going through life, agonizing over
decisions, making mistakes, trying to make
themselves look good, enduring tragedies and
finding moments of happiness" - in short, being
human. This course is an exploration of
particular life stories as an investigation into
larger cultural themes, beliefs and practices.
We will look at three life story ethnographies
and review relevant literature to explore the
process of life story production. By reading
about a !Kung hunter-gatherer, a Moroccan
tilemaker, and an American born with neither arms
nor legs, we will explore to what extent the
lives of individuals can represent greater
cultural values and experiences. In addition,
each student will be responsible for conducting
several life story interviews with one person of
their choosing and, by using techniques learned
in class, will begin to write an 'ethnography of
the particular.'