2. 职称英语
  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  14
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] Malinowski ______.
选项 A、developed ethnography into anthropology
B、used tape recorders to record the desired information
C、studied such units as urban ghettos
D、is considered father of ethnography
答案 D
解析 该题问：以下哪一种关于马林诺夫斯基的说法是正确的?第二段第一句提到，现代人类学通常将波兰出生的马林诺夫斯基在Melansia(太平洋群岛)的Trobriand群岛所做的开拓性工作看作是文化人类学作为一门专业领域的确立。从本文看，文化人类学是人类学的分支，其发展后于人类学。因此A不对。D项意为“被认为是文化人类学的创始人”。
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