Theoretical Context

Completed ethnography generally both speaks to and adds to established anthropological theory. Theory is important in ethnographic papers for two main reasons:

1. Through applying theoretical tools to what we learn in the field about particular groups, we can come to better understand specific instances of social life in our field contexts. It is through theory that ethnographic data gains meaning.

Therefore, in ethnographic papers students are required to identify and apply some body of theory to the data amassed for the purpose of explaining it.

2. Theory also has an important role in helping to generate guiding questions for ethnographic investigation, allowing us to address larger questions about how culture works among diverse groups of people. Anthropologists go into the field not just to learn how one group of people lives, but to learn more about how those particular ways of life both inform and are informed by general social and cultural processes.

Therefore, in writing ethnographic papers students should consider the implications of what is learned at the fieldsite for adding new insights or dimensions to existing theory.

The number of theoretical models which have been generated by anthropological thinkers over the decades since professional anthropology came into existence is enormous. This is in part because no kind of theory is applicable to all kinds of social and cultural phenomena. Different theoretical ways of understanding our data also tend to go in and out of wide use for a variety of reasons related to general intellectual climate and the state of accumulated knowledge at various times.

Following are general sketches of only a tiny percentage of the anthropological theory in existence. Students are encouraged to read these descriptions as a way to begin thinking about theory only. The edited volumes listed below are excellent places to begin searching for appropriate models in more depth. It is a very good idea to consult with the professor in choosing theoretical tools to apply to ethnographic papers.

Gender as a social construct: Not all cultural groups have the same understanding of biological differences between the sexes or ways in which these differences become socially manifest (or not). Therefore, gender as an analytic concept can help to illuminate much about cultural variation concerning such topics as divisions of labor, kinship, politics, and other aspects of the lives of women and men live.

Theorists to consider: Peggy Sanday, Sylvia Junko Yanagisako, Jane Collier, Louise Lamphere, Sherry Ortner.

Foucault's notion of power: Power allows certain people to define the realm of possibility for others' actions. The "peripheral effects" of power affect individuals' understandings of their own social worlds and how things work within it. In this way, it can be subtle or even unnoticed by those who it affects.
Theorists to consider: Michel Foucault.

Symbolism: Culture is publicly manifest in symbols and actions rather than a primarily mental phenomenon inside people's heads. Social meaning between and among people is conveyed via symbols. Consequently, the ways in which people interpret the meanings of symbols is a major part of understanding their world views.

Theorists to consider: Clifford Geertz. For a slightly different interpretation of symbols, consult Victor Turner.

References & suggested resources

Borofsky, Robert
1994 Assessing Cultural Anthropology. NY: McGraw-Hill.

Lemert, Charles
1999 Social Theory: the Multicultural and Classic Readings. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

McGee, R. Jon and Warms, Richard L.
1996 Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History. Mountainview, CA: Mayfair Publishing Co.

Web resources:

This site from the University of Indiana is a collection of accessible papers which clearly outline general theoretical contexts and approaches currently used in anthropology today.

http://www.indiana.edu/~wanthro/theory.htm