Auto/ethnography: Rewriting the Self and the Social (Explorations in Anthropology) [Hardcover]

Deborah Reed-Danahay (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 1859739709 | ISBN-13: 978-1859739709 | Edition: First Edition

In departing from the traditional stance taken by anthropologists, who study 'others' ethnographically, this timely book explores forms of self-inscription on the part of both the ethnographer and those 'others' who are studied. Informed by developments in postmodernism, postcolonialism, and feminism, this is an original contribution to the growing dialogue across disciplinary boundaries. The chapters build upon recent reconsiderations of the uses and meaning of personal narrative to examine the ways in which selves and social forms are culturally constituted through biographical genres. Ethnic autobiography, self-reflexivity in ethnography, and native ethnography raise provocative questions about a range of issues for the contemporary scholar: authenticity of voice; ethnographic authority; and the degree to which autoethnography constitutes resistance to hegemonic bodies of discourse. Examined here in a variety of cultural and political contexts, writing about the self offers challenging insights into the construction and transformation of identities and cultural meanings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The different writings analysed in the book address major anthropological concerns because they make possible a better understanding of the self and the social in literary societies." --Anthropological Quarterly

About the Author

Deborah Reed-Danahay is an Associate Professor, at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Berg Publishers; First Edition edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859739709
• ISBN-13: 978-1859739709
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,330,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Reed-Danahay lives in Buffalo, NY and is a Professor of Anthropology at the University at Buffalo (SUNY).