The Academic As Informant
Methodological and Theoretical Issues in the Ethnography of Intellectuals
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2499459 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth Sheehan (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 252-259 |
| Publication date | 1993-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Organization (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-7259 • E-ISSN: 1938-3517 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.17730/humo.52.3.px42r4010x553881 |
| OpenAlex | W2039601213 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 5 |
This paper discusses some of the methodological and theoretical issues raised by ethnographic research on academics and intellectuals outside of one's own country. Using material from fieldwork carried out by an anthropologist from the US in the Republic of Ireland in 1986-87, the article addresses the nature of the ethnographer's interpretive authority in reference to two related issues: that of the junior scholar conducting research on senior academics, and that of the foreign anthropologist studying native intellectuals. The article examines the practical dilemmas posed by such research in the context of increased ethnographic interest in elites, as well as the problems raised by the need to integrate indigenous intellectual understandings into a reflexive anthropology. It also discusses the difficulties of positioning oneself within foreign academic communities and evaluating their complex responses to outsiders'ethnographic practice and interpretation in the light of potential antagonism toward forei
Criminology · Ethnography · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 1998 - 2001 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |