Fieldwork on prostitution in the era of aids

Ethnography & Culture

#2.“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” by Richard Borshay lee

“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”

How do you interpret the ‘title’ of the essay? What is the significance of the title?

How did cross cultural misunderstanding ensue between Lee and the !Kung?

How did these people interact with regard to the cultural meaning of the gift of an ox?

!Kung culture/ Canadian culture

People coming from a hunting society

and an industrial one

Intercultural encounters….

“Schema” or “frame” a set of expectations that we bring to an interaction based on our previous experiences or cultural norms (Holmes, 382)

!Kung

a !Kung hunter…shares what he kills with others and expects them to reciprocate

Notes that the !Kung denigrated the gift, saying the ox was too thin

Explains that the !Kung's behavior was typical and a way to reduce arrogance (Why?)

The way the !Kung treated Richard Lee’s gift

of a Christmas ox reveals how much they value equality. How so?

Lee acquired the ox he intended to slaughter for the !Kung Christmas feast from Herero pastoralists living nearby.

Why was Lee a perfect target for the charge of arrogance and for the Bushman tactic of enforcing humility?

Lee says:

“As I read it, their message was this? There are no totally generous acts. All “acts” have an element of calculation. One black ox slaughtered at Christmas does not wipe out a year of careful manipulation of gifts given to serve your own ends. After all, to kill and animal and share the meat with people is really no more than the Bushmen do for each other every day and with far less fanfare.” (18)

1) Meaning in context?

2) Why do Americans expect people to be grateful to receive gifts? (Is this “ideal” culture or “real” culture?

#3. “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS” by Claire Sterk

questions

How is ethnographic research different from other social science research?

What can ethnographic research reveal that other forms cannot?

What were some of the techniques that Sterk used to enter the field, conduct her research, and leave the field? What problems did she face? What advice does she give?

Ethical issues?

Sterk discusses ethnographic fieldwork as a process—

entering the field,

making contact,

and developing rapport,

as well as ethical dilemmas and stress.

Methodology

Gaining entree

Leaving the field

Undertaking fieldwork in a Western microculture

in this case the culture of prostitute life illustrates how participant observation originally developed to discover the content of non-Western cultures, can be adapted for use at home.

Sterk’s goal was to learn about the lives of prostitutes from the women themselves.

The article describes

the experience of setting up and conducting an ethnographic study of prostitutes in New York and Atlanta (180 women)

Argues one should not count on "gatekeepers" or assume a role as expert

Fieldwork involved stress, which was partially relieved by being able to leave the field. Leaving the field, however, led to feelings of guilt. (Why?)

What Six themes did Sterk outline

In her ethnography of prostitutes?

Concludes six points about prostitutes from the perspective of the women themselves

1) Prostitutes often blame past experiences for their current status and

2) alienation from “normal” people.

3) There are different kinds of prostitutes—streetwalkers, women who became hooked on drugs after they started in the profession, women who entered the life already addicted to drugs, and women who turned tricks as payment for drugs.

Cont’d

4) Contracting AIDS was a great risk for prostitutes, but condom use was often rejected by their customers and pimps.

5) Men are often violent toward prostitutes.

6) Finally, women did sometimes leave this microculture, but their past often followed them.

What advice does Sterk offer

For aspiring ethnographers?

“Gatekeepers” are important in gaining initial access to a scene

Talking with informants in groups often inhibits ethnographic discovery.

Interviews

Participant observation

First experiences as prostitutes often involve alienation from people outside the life.

Sterk found that in-depth interviews worked best if held in private

Model for cross cultural understanding

Non-judgmental

Participant observer

Dialectical

Listen

Seeing the world “through their eyes”

#4. Nice Girls Don’t Talk to Rastas by George Gmelch

concepts

“Naïve realism”

What is naïve realism?

Why is this story a good example of naïve realism?

Offending behaviors/ reactions

What behavior of an American study abroad student offended the Barbadian villagers she lived with? Why was she surprised by their reaction?

Overview

Mediation in cross cultural misunderstanding

What did George Gmelch do to mediate the cross-cultural misunderstanding? How successful was he?

Social class

What is social class? What part did it play in this event?

Prejudice/ discrimination

“Others”

“Within”

Nice Girls Don't Talk to Rastas

Illustrates the role that naïve realism plays in the relationship between a student fieldworker and her Barbadian informants

American insensitivity to the existence of social class and the nature of small communities

Autonomy vs communal life

The article

Shows how an American student's values on equality conflicted with Barbadian views of class, in this case the low social position held by Rastafarians

Illustrates the role of naïve realism in cross-cultural field studies

Hannah’s story?

Her fieldwork was based around the concept that anthropologists are supposed to be interested in different kinds of people

Symbolic interactionism

What role did “class” play in shaping Barbadian perceptions of Rastas?

Perceptions vs Realities

Lazy, thieves

Hanna’s homestay family, some others in the village

Epitome of “cool”

Laid back

Reject mainstream values

Vegetarians

Rastafarianism – began in the 20s & 30

Spiritual and social movement

Diversity of Rastafarians

Yes, SOME are lazy or live alternative lifeways…others are healers, teachers, musicians

Bob Marley 1945-1981

Jamaican singer-songwriter

international musical and cultural icon

Credited with popularizing reggae music around the world and served as a symbol of Jamaican culture and identity.

a committed Rastafari

infused his music with a sense of spirituality.

“Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad…but it is everything in between that make it all worth living.”

“Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.”

Bob Marley: “Get up Stand Up for your Rights”

https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaXe5DsXmU0

Culture

Is NOT “homogenous” it’s “heterogeneous”

Various, diverse, subcultural microcultures

Within social groups as well as between them

!Kung/ other south African groups/ Canadians/ North Americans

Main stream society/ prostitutes (diversity of these as well)

Barbadians/ Rastafarians/ tourists, exchange students, etc

Comments? Questions? Clarification?

Of the articles in the chapter…which did you respond to most/ least? Why?

Works Cited:

Gmelch, George. “Nice Girls Don’t Talk to Rastas.” In Conformity and Culture: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. pp:13-19.

Haviland, William, Harold Prins, McBride and Walrath. Cultural Anthropology / Edition: 14TH by (Cengage)

Holmes, Janet. (2013) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Fourth edition. Pearson.

Lee, Richard Borshay. “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” In Conformity and Culture: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. pp:13-19.

Spradley, James P. “Ethnography and Culture” In Conformity and Culture: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. pp:6-12.

McCurdy, Shandy and Spradley. Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology/ Edition: 15TH by (Pearson).

Sterk, Claire. “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS.” In Conformity and Culture: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. pp:20-30.