Collaborative ethnography is an innovative outgrowth of the postmodern debate and is defined as a "...co-conceived and/or co-written text (with local collaborators) that consider[s] multiple audiences outside the confines of academic discourse, including local constituencies..." (Lassiter n.d.:11). As a research and writing method, collaborative ethnographies seek to address ethical issues of authority, ownership, audience, relevance, reciprocity and representation. In this respect, I document and critically reflect on the collaborative process of the Other Side of Middletown project (OSM)—a collaboratively based ethnographic venture which involved local experts (community advisors), ethnographers and BSU students. I present the OSM project as a case study that adds to the existing data on the approaches to collaborative ethnography and explore how collaborative ethnography is useful to the negotiation of current postmodern debates. Furthermore, I track and document the collaborative process, and then synthesize the ways that collaboration was both effective, and not effective through data collected via structured and semi-structured informal interviews, focus groups and participant observation of the project collaborators.The significance of my thesis rests in documenting the collaborative process to reflect on the political, moral and ethical intricacies of present-day ethnography and to offer criticism, suggestions and/or techniques for better and more clearly articulated collaborative research and epistemology. Morespecifically, the value of this thesis is supported by the critical reflection of how the black community was represented by the OSM project. The OSM project is an interdisciplinary, intercultural, collaborative response to the debate of Western historical thinking. The collaborative approach used in the OSM project is an experimental method from the postmodern reflections and critiques that aim to resolve our ethical trepidations.While the collaborative approach is not relevant to all ethnographic research, the results of my research will be vital to the continuation of ethnography for academic purposes, and more importantly, for communities and consultants. / Department of Anthropology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/188010 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Johnson, Michelle Natasya |
| Contributors | Lassiter, Luke E. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 109 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. + 1 folded map. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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