To create a new ethnography as self and others representation: Writing about the role and influence of the researcher on the research field

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13303
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Nanzan University (2017-2018); Nagoya University (2016)
• Principal Investigator: YOSHIDA SAYURI 南山大学, 国際教養学部, 准教授 (20726773)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 文化人類学 / 民族誌 / 聖者信仰 / イスラーム / エチオピア / アクター

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to create a new ethnography as self and others representation. This study is based on the background that the lead researcher of this project plays an important role in her field in southwestern Ethiopia. She participates in many activities and events that happen in the village, and it would be quite inappropriate to ignore her role and not mention herself when she writes the ethnography of the village. From this, this research clarified the role and influence of the researcher on the social relations and practices of the villagers and examined how to write the figure of a cultural anthropologist into an ethnography as a monograph of representation of the self and others.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来、文化人類学の現地調査では、文化人類学者が現地で「透明人間」となって参与観察を行うことが推奨されてきた。しかし、実際には程度の差こそあれ、文化人類学者は現地の文脈に組み込まれてきたのみならず、開発人類学をはじめとした実践人類学においては、人類学者自身が現地社会に大きく働きかけてきた。こうしたなかで、本研究は民族誌において文化人類学者の姿をどのように描くのか、文化人類学者自身を客体化して分析、記述の対象とする新たな民族誌の開拓に取り組んだ点に独創性がある。そこから、フィールドワークとは何か、民族誌とは何か、文化人類学の営為そのものを根本的に再検討した点で学術的な意義を有している。