Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities

Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities

Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities

Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities

Paperback(Second Edition)

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Overview

Feminist Ethnography, Second Edition, is an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural introduction to the methods, challenges, and possibilities of feminist ethnography. Dána-Ain Davis and Christa Craven use a problem-based approach—focused on inquiry and investigation—to present a feminist framework for thinking critically about how we document everyday experiences.

The book begins with an introduction to feminist perspectives, their meanings over time, and a brief history of feminist ethnography. Then the authors examine feminist methodologies, answering the question, how does one do feminist ethnography, and investigates common challenges such as ethical dilemmas and logistical constraints faced during fieldwork. Finally, Davis and Craven discuss what it means to be a feminist activist ethnographer, including advocacy efforts and engagement with public policy, and ask students to consider: what is your vision for the future of feminist ethnography?

New to this Edition:

  • Six new interviews with feminist ethnographers include reflections on the intersections of trans studies, disability studies, and the Cite Black Women movement
  • New section on safety, accessibility, and fieldwork to address the risks all ethnographers face, but in particular those who challenge long-held assumptions that ethnographers are (all) white, Western, able-bodied, well-funded, cisgender, and usually male
  • Enhanced discussion of virtual ethnography in the wake of COVID-19
  • Added content on transgender/nonbinary experiences and disability studies

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781538129807
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 02/28/2022
Edition description: Second Edition
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 7.03(w) x 10.08(h) x 0.66(d)
Language: Dutch
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Dána-Ain Davis is professor of urban studies and anthropology at Queens College and Graduate Center, City University of New York, and directs the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the Graduate Center.

Christa Craven is a professor of anthropology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at the College of Wooster, and currently serves as Dean for Faculty Development.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Preface to the Second Edition xv

About the Authors xix

Timeline xxi

Introduction 1

Thinking Through This Text 3

Unique Features of This Book 4

1 What Is the “Feminist” in Feminist Ethnography? 7

Spotlight: Zenzele Isoke on Feminist Concepts 8

What Is Feminist Ethnography? 9

Spotlight: Dyese 'saze on Meaningful Ethnography 12

Essential: Commentary on Doing Feminist Ethnography by Rosemarie A. Roberts 13

Spotlight: Scott L. Morgensen on the Influence of Feminist Ethnography 15

What Contributed to the History of Feminisms? 15

Reconsidering “The Waves” 15

The Time of Suffrage 17

Essential: A Portion of the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, July 19, 1848 17

Radical Movement Building 19

Expanding a Feminist Legacy 22

Thinking Through. .. Foremothers of Feminism 23

How Are Feminist Perspectives Categorized? 24

Spotlight: Gayle Rubin’s Influence 26

Essential: Excerpt from the Combahee River Collective Statement 28

Essential: Excerpt from “Under Western Eyes Revisited” by Chandra Talpade Mohanty 30

Thinking Through. .. Feminisms 31

Conclusion 31

Thinking Through. .. Feminist Perspectives and Key Texts 32

2 Historicizing Feminist Ethnography 35

Who Were Some of the Early Contributors to Feminist Ethnography? 36

Essential: Excerpt from The Omaha Tribe by Alice Fletcher and Francis LaFlesche 37

How Did Feminist Ethnography Mature between the 1920s and 1960s? 40

Essential: Excerpt from Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston 41

What Impact Did the Women’s Movement of the 1960s Have on the Next Phase of Feminist Ethnographic Production? (1960s–1980s) 42

Thinking Through. .. Restudying Culture 43

Spotlight: Florence Babb on the Impact of Woman, Culture, and Society and Toward an Anthropology of Women 44

Essential: Excerpt from “Too Queer for College” by Esther Newton 46

Spotlight: Louise Lamphere on the Legacy of Lamphere v. Brown 48

Thinking Through. .. Faculty Composition at Your Institution 50

What Interventions Came Out of Feminist Ethnography from the 1990s Through the Present? 50

Essential: Excerpt from “Methodological Gifts in Latina/o Studies and Feminist Anthropology” by Gina Pérez 52

Spotlight: C. Riley Snorton on Feminist Anthropology and Trans Studies 55

Spotlight: Lee Baker on Feminist Histories 57

Conclusion 58

Thinking Through. .. Critiques and Reviews of an Ethnography 58

3 Debates and Interventions in Feminist Ethnography 61

Who Should Be Claimed as a Feminist Ethnographer? 62

Essential: Excerpt from Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith 63

Can There Be a Feminist Ethnography? 64

Essential: Excerpt from “Can There Be a Feminist Ethnography?” by Judith Stacey 65

Essential: Excerpt from Feminism and Method by Nancy A. Naples 68

How Have Feminist Ethnographers Approached the Insider/Outsider Dilemma? 69

Essential: Excerpt from “Feminist Insider Dilemmas” by Patricia Zavella 70

Spotlight: Shannon Speed on Fieldwork and Identity 72

What Is the Role of Citational Politics in Feminist Ethnography? 75

Spotlight / Essential: Christen A. Smith on Citing Black Women 76

Essential: Excerpt from “Making Feminist Points,” on the feministkilljoys Blog by Sara Ahmed 80

Thinking Through. .. An Intellectual Genealogy 81

Can an Ethnographer’s Personal Experience Be a Part of a Study? 81

Spotlight: Laura Mauldin on the Impact of Life Experiences 82

How Involved or Engaged Should a Feminist Ethnographer Be? 84

Spotlight: Brenna McCaffrey on the Political Stakes of Feminist Ethnography 85

Spotlight: Mary L. Gray on the Labor of Feminist Ethnography 86

Conclusion 88

Thinking Through. .. What Would a Feminist Ethnographer Do? 88

4 How Does One Do Feminist Ethnography? 91

Essential: Excerpt from “Feminist Methodology. . .” by Faye V. Harrison 92

How Should a Feminist Ethnographer Choose a Topic? 94

Spotlight: Elisabeth Engebretsen on Choosing Methods and Shifting Knowledge 95

What Methods Have Been Useful to Feminist Ethnographers? 97

Participant-Observation 98

Essential: Excerpt from Queer Activism in India by Naisargi Dave 99

Ethnographic Interviewing 100

Spotlight: Class of 2021 Undergraduates on Fieldwork during a Pandemic 102

Oral History/Life History 106

Spotlight: Tracy Fisher on Using Oral/Life History to Address Feminist Ethnographic Questions 106

Survey 108

Analysis of Cultural Material 109

Social Media Research 110

Ethnohistory 113

Spotlight: Whitney Battle-Baptiste on Historical Archaeology and Literary Fiction 114

Participatory Research 115

Essential: Excerpt from “Photovoice” by Caroline C. Wang and Mary Ann Burris 116

Interpretive Communities 118

Conclusion 119

Thinking Through. .. Three Options to Explore Methodological Possibilities 120

Thinking Through. .. Word Cloud Magic! 120

5 Challenges for Feminist Ethnographers 123

Spotlight: Elizabeth Chin on Envisioning a Feminist IRB Process 125

What Logistical Constraints Arise in Feminist Ethnographic Research? 126

Essential: Excerpt from “Following as Method” in Mobile Subjects: Transnational Imaginaries of Gender Reassignment by Aren Z. Aizura 128

Essential: Excerpt from “Cast among Outcastes” by Delores Walters 131

Essential: Excerpt from “Toward a Fugitive Anthropology: Gender, Race, and Violence in the Field,” by Maya J. Berry, Claudia Chávez Argüelles, Shanya Cordis, Sarah Ihmoud, Elizabeth Velásquez Estrada 134

How Do Ethical Concerns Shape the Research Encounter? 136

Thinking Through. .. Difficult Ethnographic Experiences 137

Spotlight: Loretta J. Ross on Working with Former Skinhead White Supremacists 138

Spotlight: Tanya Erzen on the Politics of Reciprocity and Mediation 141

How Can We Assess the (Potential) Impacts of Feminist Ethnography? 144

Spotlight: Kiersten Downs on “Feminist Curiosity” and Stamina 144

Spotlight: Sandra Morgen on Movement Building 146

Thinking Through. .. Ethical Dilemmas 148

Conclusion 148

6 Producing Feminist Ethnography 151

How Does One Write Feminist Ethnography? 152

Essential: Excerpt from Alive in the Writing by Kirin Narayan 156

Essential: Excerpt from Progressive Dystopia: Abolition, Antiblackness and Schooling in San Francisco by Savannah Shange 157

Essential: Excerpt from Playing with Fire by the Sangtin Writers Collective and Richa Nagar 160

What Creative Possibilities Exist for Writing and Circulating Feminist Ethnography? 161

Spotlight: Asale Angel-Ajani on Writing (Without Swagger) 162

Fiction 163

Essential: Excerpt from A World of Babies by Judy DeLoache and Alma Gottlieb 164

Parallel Writing 165

Autoethnography and Ethnographic Memoir 166

Essential: Excerpt from Downtown Ladies, “My Jelly Platform Shoes” by Gina Athena Ulysse 167

Thinking Through. .. Citational Politics, Revisited in the Age of #MeToo 170

How Can We Make Feminist Ethnography Publicly Accessible? 170

Spotlight: Harjant Gill on Film as a Powerful Feminist Medium 172

How Do Feminist Ethnographers Engage in Creative and Artistic Projects? 175

Thinking Through. .. Experimental Design 176

Conclusion 177

Thinking Through. .. Developing Creative Ethnography 178

7 Feminist Activist Ethnography 181

What Does It Mean to Be a Feminist Activist Ethnographer? 183

Thinking Through. .. Engaging in Public Scholarship 185

What Should Feminist Activist Ethnography Seek to Accomplish? 185

Essential: Excerpt from “Water Is Life—Meters Out!” by Susan Brin Hyatt 186

Is Feminist Ethnography Inherently Activist? 187

What Forms Can Feminist Activist Ethnography Take? 189

Essential: Excerpt from Black Autonomy: Race, Gender, and Afro-Nicaraguan Activism by Jennifer Goett 190

Collaboration and Participatory Action Research 190

Essential: Excerpt from “Makes Me Mad! Stereotypes of Young Urban Womyn of Color” by the Fed Up Honeys 191

Social Media and Film 194

Spotlight: Tom Boellstorff on New Technologies and Activism 194

Thinking Through. .. Working with Activists 196

Spotlight: Michelle Téllez on Activism Through Storytelling in Visual Media 196

Serving as an Interlocutor 197

Essential: Excerpt from “Introduction: Comparative Perspectives on the Indigenous Rights Movement in Africa and the Americas” by Dorothy Hodgson 198

How Can Feminist Activist Ethnographers Reflect upon Our Practice? 199

Spotlight: Leith Mullings on Keeping Feminist Ethnography Meaningful 201

Conclusion 201

8 Thinking Through the Futures of Feminist Ethnography 205

Glossary 209

Bibliography 213

Index 231

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