,e . ü'-r::0, P -ElA-H- ■ .':A::.S;-'s:.QX'C .1- A Ivi N/;^ ;0[.-p- .svcs-c r ■ a';-: l :> am' t-'h' r ö p ö log." Ks: t-s;.v IB-AN INCREASINGLY GLOBALIZED'.' NATURE OF ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELÖV Ethnographic fieldwork is traditionally seen as what disjihguisb^sodatMH-culiSS .■ anthropology from the other social sciences. This cd[tectsan rsspoirfcis::'ta the:iK®Sis... fying scrutiny of fieldwork in recent years, it cha0enges the jd'ea 'af>hehetesss^Sjii. the total immersion of the ethnographer in the field; ai^ for^'JI^sep^fatlijB^ professional and personal areas of activity. The very/exfate'do? df;I'ih^'fiSct' as#C'' entity separate from everyday life is questioned.. '''. / Fresh perspectives on contemporary fieldwork-are provided. b^f#se:ca»st'udj^; ■from, across North America and Europe. These'.contributedgiy^ appraisal of what fieldwork is and should be; and:an: exifa::dirTien:stor>.:ls :addedC:: through fascinating accounts of the personal: experieri'ceis:!6| ^tnr'jp&logfefeifS?: the field. ■ Constructing the Field is a timeiy contribution, four'hi§-^ 'Accessible and comprehensive, it will be an essential'fesairrce;-.fot ^biiy jtodsREs':! : arid-scholars of anthropology. ■ s! -J •Si '::.S)BÖa:::. ..-J"*?.'- ■ SSwfe..... -ff*! ..... Vered; Amit is an Associate Professor at Cöncordfa- Ur>iyersrfy.-;in!■ PoStitssf;:. Canada. Cover drawings: from rock engravings in Val Camonica, Northern ftalfrlc:: SÖ.fHiÖO: K Cover design: Sutchinda Rangsi Thompson . Anthropology | Sociology 11 New Fs-tler Lane London EC4F 29 West 3b1h Street New Vork MY 10001 Prin-sd in Grer -y r.'n ISBN 0-415-19830-5 780415 198301 Constructing the Field Knihovna^ FS'S(,KU Birno 4240727454 Ethnographic fieidwork is traditionally seen as what distinguishes social and cultural anthropology from the other social sciences. This collection responds to the intensifying scrutiny of fieidwork in recent years. It challenges the idea of the necessity for the total immersion of the ethnographer in the field, and for the clear separation of professional and personal areas of activity. The very existence of 'the field' as an entity separate from everyday life is questioned. Fresh perspectives on contemporary fieidwork are provided by diverse case studies from across North America and Europe. These contributions give a thorough appraisal of what fieidwork is and should be, and an extra dimension is added through fascinating accounts of the personal experiences of anthropologists in the field. Constructing the Field is a timely contribution to a highly topical debate. Accessible and comprehensive, it will be an essential resource for both students and scholars of anthropology. Vered Amit is an Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. 4240727454 European Association of Social Anthropologists Series facilitator: Jon P. Mitchell Un iversity of Sussex The European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) was inaugurated in January 1989, in response to a widely felt need for a professional association, which would represent social anthropologists in Europe and foster cooperation and interchange in teaching and research. As Europe transforms itself in the 1990s, the EASA is dedicated to the renewal of the distinctive European tradition in social anthropology. Other titles in the series: Conceptualizing Society Adam Kuptt Other Histories Kirsten Hastrup Alcohol, Gender and Culture Dimitra Gefou-Madianou Understanding Rituals Daniel de Cappel Gendered Anthropology Teresa del Valle Grasping the Changing World Vaclav Hubinger Civil Society Chris Hann and Elizabeth Dunn Nature and Society Philippe Descola and Gisli Palsson The Ethnography of Moralities Signe Howell Inside and Outside the Law Olivia Harris Social Experience and Anthropological Knowledge Kirsten Hastrup and Peter Hervik Fieldworkand Footnotes Han F. Vermeulen and Arturo Alvarez Roldan Syncretism/Anti-Syncretism Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw Locality and Belonging Nadia Lovell Recasting Ritual Felicia Hughes-Freeland and MaryM. Crain Anthropological Perspectives on Local Development Simone Abram and Jacqueline Waldren Constructing the Field Ethnographic Fieldwork in the Contemporary World Edited by Vered Am it * France London and New York aú\l\TE 2008 1 - I Contents , n MASARYK \ Fahj 1 l in C-'" fin 11 f First published 2000 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 1000 f Reprinted 2002 Routfedge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group ©2000 selection and editorial matter, EASA; individual chapters, the contributors Typeset in Galliard by BC Typesetting, Bristol Printed in Great Britain by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Tocton, Hants AH rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Constructing the field: ethnographic fieldwork in the contemporary world/edited by Vered Amit. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. I. Ethnology-Field work. I. Amit, Vered, 1955-GN346.C64 1999 305.8'007'23-dc2l 99-24309 CIP List of contributors vii 1 Introduction: constructing the field 1 VERED AMIT 2 At 'home' and 'away': reconfiguring the field for late twentieth-century anthropology 19 VIRGINIA CAPUTO 3 Home field advantage? Exploring the social construction of children's sports 32 NOEL DYCK 4 Here and there: doing transnational fieldwork 54 CAROLINE KNOWLES 5 The narrative as fieldwork technique: processual ethnography for a world in motion 71 NIGEL RAPPORT 6 'Informants' who come 'home' 96 SARAH PINK 7 Phoning the field: meanings of place and involvement in fieldwork 'at home' 120 KARIN NORMAN ISBN 0-415-19829-1 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-19830-5 (pbk) vi Contents 8 Access to a closed world: methods for a multilocale study on ballet as a career HKI.KNA WULFF 147 Contributors 9 Locating yoga: ethnography and transnational practice SARAH STRAUSS 162 Index 195 Vered Amit, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Virginia Caputo, Assistant Professor, Department of Women's Studies, Carieton University, Ottawa, Canada. Noel Dyck, Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. Caroline Knowles, Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. Rarin Norman, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Sarah Pink, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Science, University of Derby, Derby, UK. Nigel Rapport, Professor, Department of Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scodand. Sarah Strauss, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USA. Helena Wulff, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.