ethnography

[ eth-nog-ruh-fee ]

noun

1. a branch of anthropology dealing with the scientific description of individual cultures.

ethnography

/ ɛθˈnɒɡrəfɪ; ˌɛθnəʊˈɡræfɪk /

noun

1. the branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of individual human societies

ethnography

/ ĕth-nŏg′rə-fē /

1. The branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.

Derived Forms

• ˌethˈnographer, noun
• ˌethnoˈgraphically, adverb
• ethnographic, adjective

Other Words From

• eth·nog·ra·pher noun
• eth·no·graph·ic [eth-n, uh, -, graf, -ik], eth·no·graph·i·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethnography¹

First recorded in 1825–35; ethno- + -graphy

Example Sentences

We’ll never be able to match the level of detail that you get when you do rich narrative ethnography.

From Nautilus

For the contrast between nonstate and state societies, I used data from forensic archeology and from quantitative ethnography.

From The Daily Beast

I charged myself especially with inquiring into the Indian history and languages, statistics, and general ethnography.

From Project Gutenberg

To the student of African ethnography this volume is a great disappointment in one respect.

From Project Gutenberg

Its intrinsic interest, consequently, as well as its bearing upon primitive geography and ethnography, warrants its presentation.

From Project Gutenberg

Such are the notices bearing upon the ethnography of the Cimbri.

From Project Gutenberg

It has its characteristics and special features; its own soil and its own folk; its own geography, ethnography, and climate.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Ethnography

What is ethnography?

Ethnography is a branch of anthropology that analyzes and describes specific human cultures.

Anthropology is a broad field of science that studies human culture from the macro level. Ethnography, on the other hand, studies one specific culture as thoroughly as possible.

Typically, this is done by what is known as participant observation. That means the ethnographer actually travels to the location of the culture they are studying and immerses themselves in it as much as possible. For example, an ethnographer interested in the people of Barbados would move to the island and live among the people for an extended time.

In ethnography, a researcher builds a detailed, factual profile of a culture because they have lived in it themselves. An ethnographer will eat the cultural food, observe local holidays, participate in local rituals, and try to live their life exactly the same as a local would.

This direct approach separates ethnography from other subfields of anthropology. Usually, anthropologists study a culture by researching such things as the artwork, language, or literature.

The similarly named ethnology is a subfield of anthropology that studies different cultures more broadly and compares them to each other.

Why is ethnography important?

The first records of the word ethnography come from around 1825. It comes from the combining form ethno–, which means “people” or “culture,” and the combining form –graphy that refers to the process of writing or otherwise recording something. Ethnography is a very specific, detailed observation of one particular culture.

Ethnography is considered to have emerged during the early 1900s when anthropologists such as Bronislaw Malinowski and Margeret Mead actually traveled to foreign places and thoroughly studied culture by living within it.

In science, the researcher is supposed to stay as isolated from their subject as possible so they don’t influence the results. In ethnography, however, the researcher gets as involved as they can without interfering with the culture they are studying. This means an ethnographer must work hard to avoid corrupting their research. In proper ethnography, the researcher must not alter the society’s culture nor allow a new culture to influence them. Avoiding bias by not viewing a foreign culture as “strange,” “primitive,” or even “superior” is central to ethnographic study.

Did you know … ?

Like all science, ethnography has adapted to changes in technology. In recent times, some ethnographers have become interested in the rise of online cultures and new methods that could be developed to study them.

What are real-life examples of ethnography?

Ethnography is a major branch of anthropology that leads to numerous research papers and published books.

Massive congratulations to @rachelrosetynan who was awarded her PHD yesterday at Goldsmiths for a thesis entitled ‘Living life’ – a brilliant ethnography of young men’s experience of long term imprisonment. @bungatuffie @EmmakJackson @SociologyGold @openbookproject

— Les Back (@AcademicDiary) August 2, 2018

Working on the ethnography for my book and re-reading field notes. Young people are amazing, interesting and complex. No wonder they are the ‘movers and shakers’ of language change. How privileged I was to do ethnography with them.

— Emma Moore 💙🌺 (@SociolingEm) October 29, 2019

 

 

What other words are related to ethnography?

• anthropology
• culture
• society
• participant observation
• Bronislaw Malinowski
• Margeret Mead

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

Ethnography often involves a researcher living among the people whose society they are observing.