Culture Matters!!!!

This week we encountered forms of Ethnography work in the form of literature as also in the form of film. Both forms were really effective in capturing the ethnographical work of studying the !Kung, specifically the !Kung women lifestyles. The literature about the woman Nisa was filled with information about the life a of a !Kung woman. We read about daily routines, family life, marriages, sex, childhood to motherhood, work and play, food, and survival. We also were able to view these things in the film through the woman Nai. Both depicted the same culture, which compared to ours is completely different, but even compared to each other there were slight variations. Even though our cultures were very different I think there were underlying similarities in womanhood between cultures that the ethnographical work allows us to see. I thought motherhood was an underlying tie all cultures have in common, although the way raising children differs, the importance of a mother in an infants life is an equally shared concept. However after reading this novel and seeing the intricacies of this completely different culture it is important to note the differences as well, the life of a !Kung woman is completely different from anything I could ever imagine living. In return I also thought about how hard it would be for a !Kung woman would have living in our culture. Unfortunately at the end of the film it seems like the culture of Nai is being suffocated by those who are trying to modernize it. I thought it was really important to take from the novel and film how the ethnography work not only allows to get facts on how another culture works, but also how it allows us to see how other people live happily and feel successful. For the !Kung women first menstruation entitles a celebration and ritual, in our culture the “Sweet Sixteen” entitles a celebration and ritual, both are times of happiness and marks of maturity in their individual cultures. In our culture we measure happiness and success mostly with money, but for the !Kung everything is treated equal but a great hunt or gathering or the ability to care for one’s family is the measure of happiness and success. These differences are extreme, and some as in Nai’s story feel the need to change them, but I feel like these differences are enriching and enlightening. Consider how nice it would be to live a culture focused on people and the care of others, and your happiness and success depended upon your relationships not your earnings. It could be a great way to live sharing and caring, opposed to climbing the corporate ladder. These differences are exactly differences and ethnographical work allows us to see that and compare. The reading and film really showed that “big picture” of the importance of ethnographical work and its ability to tell a story of another culture. Sometimes we get so immersed into our own culture anything outside of it seems strange, and I’ll admit I would say some of the stuff I read in Nisa definitely brought on some strong reactions of questioning why anyone would ever do that, but after watching the film on Nai and seeing them in westernized clothing instead of their traditional dress really hit me. If we are all the same there won’t be anything to compare to and learn from, even learning about our culture in those comparisons and the possibly the coolest discovery of all ideas and important things that occur through multiple cultures. Exploring all of this Ethnographical work this week gave a “big picture” of the importance of studying other cultures is and how much one can learn, if I learned anything at all it is that CULTURE MATTERS!!

Say Whaaaaaat??!!

This week’s readings dealt with the topic of ethnography and fieldwork. All of the readings gave many reasons and examples of why fieldwork can be difficult and the many challenges a researcher may face when emerged into another culture. The purpose of ethnography as Lassiter puts it is to get data from the “native's point of view” and although that is the goal, it is also the difficulty. It especially difficult when as a researcher you don’t have a trusted friend, that’s why an informant is important, especially in communication terms. I think in the last two articles by Lee and Bohnnan really represent how key communication is in the big picture although both of these articles were about two separate incidents one with an insulted outsider and another with a very frustrated outside storyteller, they both show the importance of communication and understanding how it is used, and the difficulties that different interpretations and customs bring to a conversation, story, or act. I think all the online articles are also good examples of how acceptance and trust and gaining these things are a big part of ethnography and getting good data, for example in the Chagnon article the Yanomamo totally lie and the research is basically false because in their culture it is unacceptable to speak of the dead, so all of the genealogy research being done was completely taboo. All of the stories and articles provided examples of the many difficulties faced in fieldwork including communication, trust, ethics, and culture shock.
Many of these moments in the reading I would call “Say Whaaaaaat??!!” moments in my everyday life. A “Say What??!!” is something, someone, or somewhere that surprises you, disgusts you, frightens you, etc. (depending on the inflection in your voice) in everyday life. As an ethnographer you are likely to encounter these moments all the time, for example in the Lee article when he found the biggest bull and all the townspeople said no it’s too skinny, I would say “Say Whaaaaaaat??” in astonishment, because it’s not the reaction I would expect or any custom I am used to. Even within my own culture I find myself saying this phrase for example a few years back remember purple and green ketchup, when I saw that commercial I can promise you the first two words out of my mouth were say and what!! It’s those tiny culture differences that catch you off guard or that you don’t understand that cause you to question “Say Whaaaaaaaat??”. Communication is so important too that when I don’t understand something, like an explanation or definition, this phrase comes in handy in getting people to repeat or explain differently. So I guess my connection to the reading with my little phrase and so call moments is this: As an ethnographer I would have a lot of “Say Whaaaaat??!!” moments! The reason for this would be because the challenges of ethnography including culture shock and communication are so fervent as the many articles we read proved. The study and action of fieldwork is filled with surprising information all the time and as much as it is interesting, it can also be difficult to comprehend and adapt to causing one to think “Say Whaaaaaat??”!!!