Anthropological Orientation (The Boundaries and Foundations of Field Science)

Author: (American) Gupta, Ferguson, translated by Luo Jianjian et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: In its appropriate decomposition and aggregation of the concept of fieldwork, it is successful and engaging. It challenges our understanding of current and future anthropological methods and cultural strategies in the long-standing ethnographic standards of the social sciences. For anyone genuinely concerned with ethnology and its successors, this book is a must-read. — John Comaroff, University of Chicago
This is an extremely important contribution to anthropology. More importantly, despite the direct and sharp criticism, the tone of the book remains constructive rather than destructive—or perhaps "destructively constructive." — John Vincent, Bard College
The book’s contribution lies in its profound and stimulating review of past and present fieldwork thinking, pointing out the direction in which anthropology, as a concept and as an evolving discipline, is heading. We often refer to Anthropological Positioning when debating how to proceed next. — Ulf. Hannerz, author of Transnational Relations
This timely and important edited volume by Gupta and Ferguson deserves to be widely read and appreciated. — Cherie Otter, Columbia University
In terms of knowledge systems and professional practice, fieldwork and the related ethnography have perhaps never been as central to the discipline of anthropology as they are today. From a disciplinary perspective, the era when ethnography was seen as a "simple description"—a means of providing raw data for the science of natural human behavior—has long passed. Whether it is the disciplinary stylistic shift (from "deep description" to "writing culture") or the disciplinary historical shift (from political economy to regional social history), mainstream socio-cultural anthropology in renowned departments at American and British universities now views ethnographic description as a valuable and vibrant part of the discipline’s development.