The Ethnographic Turn: On Theory, Method, and Practice in Anthropology
A Graduate Student Conference hosted by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder
Friday, September 30th - Saturday, October 1st, 2016
What is ethnography? It is a method, a practice, and a theory. Ethnography is the anthropological way of coming to know a people. We write ethnographies, we do ethnography, we think ethnographically; this is sociocultural anthropology’s past and present. In a recent interview, when asked ‘why ethnography,’ anthropologist Kirin Narayan answered: “For the discipline of paying attention; for learning from others; for becoming more responsibly aware of inequalities; for better understanding the social forces causing suffering and how people might somehow find hope; and most generally, for being perpetually pulled beyond the limits of one’s own taken-for-granted world” (Narayan in McGranahan 2014). Ethnography has long been the defining method of the discipline. The recent “Ethnographic Turn” in contemporary anthropology has prompted a discipline-wide re-imagining of ethnography. As such, is it redundant to say that anthropology is experiencing an ethnographic turn? We contend that it is not; instead asking what is specific and productive about this current ethnographic turn versus earlier ones such as the Geertzian era of the 1970s and 1980s. In this particular historical moment, what demands are being placed on anthropologists now to speak to and with the world in new ways?
In this conference, we will reflect on the possibilities of reframing and re-imagining ethnography within the present and future of the discipline. Panels and workshops will focus on continuing conversations launched, for example, by scholars such as Giovanni Da Col and David Graeber (2011) in calling for a “return to ethnographic theory” in the inaugural issue of HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. We look to further develop our role as students to foster discussion and collaboration on ethnography within the discipline. We seek to come away with more thought-provoking questions than conclusive answers. How do we examine ethnography as practice and product, and how do we effectively incorporate ethnography as such within the various stages of our own respective research? What are the ethics underlying these shifts in theory, method, and practice? How is ethnography being reimagined in the present, and what does this mean for the future? Where do we go from here?
The Ethnographic Turn is a two-day interdisciplinary conference organized by graduate students in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Events are free and open to the public. Audra Simpson (Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University) will give the keynote address on “The Sovereignty of Critique.” We will also hold two workshops for all attendees: “Ethics and Ethnographic Refusal” led by Professors Carole McGranahan and Audra Simpson, and “Ethnographic Artifacts” led by Professors Alison Cool and Kathryn Goldfarb. We look forward to building connections across universities-- come join us!
The conference will include several exciting events, including field note gallery walks and workshops. Potential panel topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Ethnographic theory and methods
- Experimental ethnography
- Writing ethnography
- Ethnographic media and media anthropology
- Performance and the art(s) of ethnography
- Positionality and ethics
- Ethnography as practice and as product
Accepted panelists will be limited to current and incoming graduate students in anthropology. Food will be provided for visiting panelists throughout the conference. There will also be opportunities to hike, attend a brewery tour, and explore beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Additionally, our goal is to provide lodging for all participants. However, space may be limited, and we will accommodate lodging for panelists on a first come, first serve basis. We invite applicants to submit an abstract by Sunday, May 15, 2016 by clicking the “Submit Abstracts Here” link below.