Anderson AAAPSS 2004-2

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Political and Social ScienceThe ANNALS of the American Academy of

DOI: 10.1177/00027162042678462004; 595; 6The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Elijah Anderson, Scott N. Brooks, Raymond Gunn and Nikki Jones

Preface

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10.1177/0002716204267846THEANNALSOFTHEAMERICAN ACADEMYPREFACE

These articles are gathered from the ethnog-raphy conference Being Here and BeingT he re : F ie ld wo rk E nc ou nt er s a ndEthnographic Discoveries, which was held atthe University of Pennsylvania in November2003.

An ethnography fieldwork conference thatwas held at the University of California, LosAngeles, in May 2002, provided a rare opportu-nity for established scholars and graduate stu-dents to share their work and to socialize infor-mally. Participants at the Penn conferenceexplored further some of the projects, pro-

grams, and conversations from the Californiaconference. In keeping with the previous con-ference, new and seasoned fieldworkers fromvarious parts of the United States and the worldcame together to underscore the value ofethnographic work and also to seek newdirections.

With these concerns in mind, conferenceparticipants discussed the social organization ofurban life, culture, and the continuing signifi-cance of the city as a site for ethnographic stud-ies. Seemingly, ethnographers are forever insearch of ways to better get at these persistentissues: How do people live? How do they goabout meeting the demands of life? How andwhy do they form their definitions of the situa-tion? What do researchers know about theseprocesses?Howdoweknowwhatweknow?andWhat is its significance? These are among theissuesthatwere addressedover thecourse of theconference. There was ample opportunity foryoung scholars and veteran field researchers tocome together in an intimate setting to bridgetheir work in ways that both take ethnographyinto the future and reestablish ties to their

scholarly roots.When the four of us met to discuss putting onan ethnography conference, we hadno idea howmuchofaHerculeantaskitwouldbeorhowsat-

DOI: 10.1177/0002716204267846

ANNALS, AAPSS, 595, September 2004 6

Preface

By

ELIJAH ANDERSON,SCOTT N. BROOKS,RAYMOND GUNN,

andNIKKI JONES

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isfying it would be for us individually and collectively. It seemed simple enough toget folks together who do ethnography; after all, what ethnographers do is getwith people. Essentially, inviting friends over for a two-day dinner to share sto-ries was what we envisioned and hoped for. Our friends came from far and wide.They came from many parts of the United States, as well as France, Finland, andEnglandand all had fascinating stories to share. We encouraged veteranfieldworkersto include their students in this wonderfulenterprise as a wayto makeexplicit the importance of mentoring as an integral part of ethnographic work.

Indeed, mentoring is a major theme that runs throughout the proceedings, andit is oneof thethreads that holds this volumetogetherso well.Another threadis theethnographers passion for learning from others. In the pieces that follow, thereaderwill come away with a clear sense of thevariousways ethnographers developrelationships with people in thefieldandlearnfrom these peopleso as to conduct a

systematic study of the culture of the people. In short, ethnography is about reallife and how people go about meeting the demands of life.

One learns from this volume that as students of culture, ethnographers mustpossess curiosity, openness, and humilitythree traits that are vital for gettingwith people.

We tend to be internally motivated to examine specific issues and people. Weoften find ourselves interacting with those whom others talkabout but do not nec-essarily talk to. Sometimes, we are those people, a marginal status that we use toempower our observations and insights.

The insight gleaned is rich and poignant,seeminglyperfect forsocialpolicy. Butethnography andsocial policyhave a troubled marriage. Thetruths that areborn ofethnographic work rarely fit neatly with the ways social policies are implemented.This tension plays itself out in a variety of wayssome more explicitly than oth-ersbut it is always present in ethnographic work.

This volume is unique, as far as we know, for bringing such a broad range of sto-ries andresearchers together. Onemight even wonderhowthey fit together; this isthe point of gathering such work in a single source. The unity lies not so much ingeneral themes, though they exist, but in the challenges and boons of fieldworkborn out of thick description and examined experiences, which we were able toexchange at the conference. What lie before you are some of the stories that par-ticipants shared.

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Anderson AAAPSS 2004-2