Re: Foucault and ethnography...again

your question is stimulating, because --- assuming you that refer to the
discipline of anthropology with your phrase "ethnography" (vs. what goes on
under that label in sociology); i do not really think there is all that much
discussion of foucault at the level of ethnography, ie. method or of
ethnographic analysis (vs. theoretical frameworks and modes of framing
problems). but several things are now coming to mind as i write tthis:
1st) i would check out Ann Stoler's new book which is specicifically
oriented around the question of what does foucault offer anthropology (at
least htats my recollection from the promo-blurb, since i have yet to even
buy it!). hm. of course then there is Aihwa Ong, SPIRITS OF RESISTANCE AND
CAPITALITS DISCIPLINE: FACTORY WOMEN IN MALAYSIA -- the title states clearly
whats going on there, no?! Further along the lines of factory labor and
discipline, see Lisa Rofel, an article in CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY. vol.7 1992,
who discusses these issues in relation to modernity in china. 2nd, I would
go to emily martin's FLEXIBLE BODIES which works out a kind of ethnographic
methodology that is distinct from the "traditional" village style etc. and
is inspired by the foucaultian notion of apparatus. Third, there are a
handful of ethnographic methods books that include discusssions of fouculat:
martyn hammersley --- sorry, i cannot find the precise title; he has several
such books that span the 80s and there is one in particular in he discusses
a little bit of foault in relation to life history documents and that type
of stuff, so it focusses on the herculine & i pierre Foucault vs the other
foucaults of prisons, madness, archeologies, governmentalities, technologies
of self. Fourth, I would read the initial chapters of the practice of
everyday life, by michel decerteau, who lays out very nicely how to make use
of foucault as an ethnographer.

ciao.

quetzil.

At 10:46 PM 3/29/96 -0500, you wrote:
>This again.
>
>I threw this out a while ago and didn't really get much back, so I thought
>I'd try again.
>
>can anyone direct me to anything good and recent.... or maybe a whole bunch
>of good recent stuff..... on Foucault and ethnographic practice. What
>aspects of his work do ethnographers emphasize when they talk about
>Foucault's relevance to ethnographic study? More impotantly, what have
>ethnographic researchers in response to Foucault's influence on social
>science approaches?
>
>Hmmmm.... any ideas?
>


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