Essay on Reflexivity and Modern Works of Anthropology

Reflexivity and Modern Works of Anthropology The role of reflexivity in Anthropology has changed a great deal over time. The effects of doing ethnography on the ethnographer was not considered an important mode of inquiry in the past. While inevitably, going to far distant lands and living with a culture so different from your own will at least cause the ethnographer to reflect on personal issues but most likely will cause profound changes in the way he or she will view the world. But in the past these changes were not important. What was necessary for the ethnographer to do in the past was to document a culture break it down structurally and quantify the observations made. The reflexive nature of his or her experiences were of little†¦show more content†¦(Malinowski, 11) This basically means that it is the role of the ethnographer to rationalize and put in writing the ways of existence of another culture. What he gains from the experience of living with the trobriand islanders is of no concern the people he was writin g for. It is my belief that perhaps the reason that the anthropologists of the past have placed so much importance on structuralizing and bringing into written fruition the laws that the natives live by but are not aware of, is to give others the idea that their research and inquiry are purely scientific and by no means reflexive. The reason that they do this is probably to get backing by institutions in order so they may have their travels paid for and so they may be recognized as a scholar by a scholarly reading audience. As time has gone on more and more Anthropologists have talked about how their ethnographic research has effected their thinking. At first they integrated the reflexive nature of their research in a sort of roundabout way. For instance the notion that different cultures and peoples really dont structure their realities all that differently. (Levi-Strauss) While this may not seem to be reflexive and it definitely is not blatantly expressed in the text, it is more philosophical and more geared towards stimulating thoughts about the nature of life as we know it. While Levi-Strauss may not have stated this outright (he still had to appearShow MoreRelatedResearch Methodology Essay4336 Words   |  18 Pagesâ€Å"The study of man contains a greater variety of intellectual styles than any other area of cultural endeavor. How different social scientists go about their work, and what they aim t accomplish by it, often do not seem to have a common denominator ... Let us admit the case of our critics from the humanities and from the experimental sciences: Social science as a whole is both intellectually and morally confused. 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