The article discusses the role of ethnography in anthropology, noting the values and goals of ethnographic research in cultural anthropology. It examines what is involved in conducting ethnographic research, focusing on specific concepts, principles, assumptions, and characteristics, and it discusses the value of ethnography in education. (SM)

Concepts of identity and ethnicity, and their applicability to Europe through language, religious and cultural criteria are reviewed. It is noted that thoughts of an integrated Europe must acknowledge both behavioral and ethnographic approaches to difference and particularly the contrasts between dominance and difference theories. A European…

Asserts that critically and socially committed ethnographers are demanding a radical rethinking of the enterprise of ethnography along four intersecting themes: (1) The Return of the Body, (2) Boundaries and Borderlands, (3) The Rise of Performance, and (4) Rhetorical Reflexivity. Argues that such rethinking is conducive to changes in all modes of…

In reacting to a review article by Foley, points out that microethnographers have agreed that it is necessary to consider sociological, historical, and economic contexts. Suggests that theories that are based on stratification models or on psychological characteristics can be strengthened with the appropriate use of sociolinguistics. Investigating…

Continues questioning the position of the ethnographer as filmmaker in relation to those of whom the filmmaker speaks, while arguing that attention be given to the position of those to whom the filmmaker speaks. Refocuses attention on the effects of the ethnographic film in the place of its reception. (PRA)

Examines the natural language descriptions employed by American high school adolescents in talking about the kinds of communication events they experience in everyday life. Finds that adolescents describe communication events through use of setting, participant, speech act, and purpose marker terms. Differentiates nine basic clusters of…

Comments on some recent debates in audience studies. Argues that much active audience theory is in fact premised on a heavily negotiated reading (if not a misreading) of some of the earlier work that is often invoked as its theoretical basis. (SR)

Discusses the problem of "overlap" sometimes experienced by interdisciplinary teams. Analyzes a brief segment of a team conversation in which overlap is discussed. Reveals participants' territoriality in the face of an ideology of interdisciplinary collaboration. (HB)

Discusses ethnographic studies in business and technical writing, noting that ethnography comprises four essential, overlapping contexts: the phenomenal context, the site's cultural context, the research community context, and the researcher's interior context. Claims ethnographic accounts should balance the input of each of these areas rather…

Describes aspects of a four-year ethnographic study of eight undergraduates in a design and technology program. Finds that students experienced tension between the intention of making change to the made-world through designing and the intention of making change to themselves through learning. Examines the methodology and conflict of learners'…

Examines the "whats" and "hows" of first-grade urban children's appropriation of sports and sports-related media material for participation in unofficial peer worlds and official academic ones. Reveals the potential hybrid nature of even the earliest of children's written texts. Suggests that learning to write involves work of the imagination on…

Drawing from multiple data sources collected during two ethnographic studies in a Latino immigrant community in Los Angeles, this study analyzes community members' perspectives on bilingualism and language uses--views that have largely been neglected in recent policy debates about bilingual education. (Author/VWL)

Examines effects of policies implemented by Basque Autonomous Community to reverse decline of the Basque language of Euskara and to restore its use throughout the Basque community on Rioja Alavesa, a borderland zone where Euskara has not been spoken since the middle ages. This case demonstrates the utility of a borderland context, where identities…

With the advent of the Internet, ethnography is being used to study the cultural practices of computer-mediated communication. Examines the nature and boundaries of virtual communities, the social presence of participation, social strategies of entry and membership, and technical utilities of data generation. Discusses ethical issues and areas for…

Explains the importance of evidence based medical education and how quantitative outcome studies are favored in medical education. Argues that evidence from ethnography can provide valuable insight into medical education using the introduction of a problem based learning (PBL) curriculum as an example. Includes 42 references. (Author/YDS)