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  3. Ethnography is the study of a particular human society or the process of mak

Ethnography is the study of a particular human society or the process of mak

游客2023-12-20  36
问题     Ethnography is the study of a particular human society or the process of making such a study. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork and requires the complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and every- day life of the people who are the subject of his study. Ethnography, by virtue of its intersubjective nature, is necessarily comparative. Given that the anthropologist in the field necessarily retains certain cultural biases, his observations and descriptions must, to a certain degree, be comparative. Thus the formulating of generalizations about culture and the drawing of comparisons inevitably become components of ethnography.
    Modern anthropologists usually identify the establishment of ethnography as a professional field with the pioneering work of the Polish-born British anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in the Trobriand Islands of Melanesia. Ethnographic fieldwork had since become a sort of rite of passage into the profession of cultural anthropology. Many ethnographers reside in the field for a year or more, learning the local language or dialect and, to the greatest extent possible, participating in everyday life while at the same time maintaining an observer’s objective detachment.
    This method, called participant-observation, while necessary and useful for gaining a thorough understanding of a foreign culture, is in practice quite difficult. Just as the anthropologist brings to the situation certain inherent, if unconscious, cultural biases, so also is he influenced by the subject of his study. While there are cases of ethnographers who felt alienated or even repelled by the culture they entered, many -- perhaps most -- have come to identify closely with "their people", a factor that affects their objectivity. In addition to the technique of participant-observation, the contemporary ethnographer usually selects and cultivates close relationship with individuals, known as informants, who can provide specific in- formation on ritual, kinship, or other significant aspects of cultural life. In this process also the anthropologist risks the danger of biased viewpoints, as those who most willingly act as informants frequently are individuals who are marginal to the group and who may provide other than objective explanations of cultural and social phenomena. A final hazard inherent in ethnographic fieldwork is the ever-present possibility of cultural change produced by or resulting from the ethnographer’s presence in the group.
    Contemporary ethnographies usually adhere to a community, rather than individual, focus and concentrate on the description of current circumstances rather than historical events. Traditionally, commonalities among members of the group have been emphasized, though recent ethnography has begun to reflect an interest in the importance of variation within cultural systems. Ethnographic studies are no longer restricted to small primitive societies but may also focus on such social u- nits as urban ghettos. The tools of the ethnographer have changed radically since Malinowski’s time. While detailed notes are still a mainstay of fieldwork, ethnographers have taken full advantage of technological developments such as motion pictures and tape recorders to augment their written accounts. [br] The ethnographer shows great interest in all of the following EXCEPT ______.
选项 A、current conditions that exist with a culture
B、individual behavior as shaped by a custom
C、behavior patterns common among members of a culture
D、differences existing within a culture
答案 B
解析 该题问：人种学家对下列中哪一项不感兴趣?最后——段第一句提到，当代人类学家一般坚持研究社会，而不是个体；重点描述(这个社会的)目前状况(可证明A符合文章内容)，而不是历史事件。第二句讲传统的文化人类学重点研究这个社会的普遍行为(可证明C符合文章内容)，而目前已开始注意到文化体系中的变异行为的重要性(可证明D符合文章内容)。故选B，B项意为“习谷所塑造的个体行为”。
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