The Anthropologist as Writer: Genres and Contexts in the Twenty-First Century

Published by Berghahn Books 2016

The Anthropologist as Writer

Genres and Contexts in the Twenty-First Century

Edited by: Helena Wulff

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781785330193

Overview
Contents

About this book

Writing is crucial to anthropology, but which genres are anthropologists expected to master in the 21st century? This book explores how anthropological writing shapes the intellectual content of the discipline and academic careers. First, chapters identify the different writing genres and contexts anthropologists actually engage with. Second, this book argues for the usefulness and necessity of taking seriously the idea of writing as a craft and of writing across and within genres in new ways. Although academic writing is an anthropologist’s primary genre, they also write in many others, from drafting administrative texts and filing reports to composing ethnographically inspired journalism and fiction.

Author / Editor information

Helena Wulff is Professor of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University. Among her publications are the monographs Ballet across Borders (1998, Bloomsbury), Dancing at the Crossroads (2007, Berghahn), and Rhythms of Writing (2017, Bloomsbury).

Reviews

“Overall, the collection should be a mandatory reference for all working ethnographers in the social sciences and required reading in all graduate courses on ethnographic methods.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)

“Due to the volume’s overall approach to the writing process as part of the profession, the chapters offer insightful observations for scholars in both early and later stages of their careers… The strength of the edited volume is that each chapter takes a very concrete situation as departure point, from perspectives such as journalism, administration, publishing, activism or funding. These are the basis for wider observations about challenges and opportunities for the writer – the anthropologist – to take into account. As such, it is an extremely valuable resource for anthropologists and ethnographers working in academia.” • Anthropological Journal of European Cultures (AJEC)

“This well-written collection of essays is not merely a programmatic statement about the need for anthropologists to experiment with genres, but indicates how it can be done. It succeeds in showing just as much as telling, with examples ranging from the thought-provoking to the entertaining.” • Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Tables Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	VIII
Introducing the Anthropologist as Writer: Across and Within Genres Helena Wulff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I. The Role of Writing in Anthropological Careers
Chapter 1 The Necessity of Being a Writer in Anthropology Today Dominic Boyer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
Chapter 2 Reading, Writing, and Recognition in the Emerging Academy Don Brenneis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Chapter 3 O Anthropology, Where Art Thou? An Auto-Ethnography of Proposals Sverker Finnström Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
Chapter 4 The Craft of Editing: Anthropology’s Prose and Qualms Brian Moeran Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
Chapter 5 The Anglicization of Anthropology: Opportunities and Challenges Máiréad Nic Craith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
II. Ethnographic Writing
Chapter 6 The Anthropologist as Storyteller Alma Gottlieb Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
Chapter 7 Writing for the Future Paul Stoller Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	118
Chapter 8 Life-Writing: Anthropological Knowledge, Boundary-Making, and the Experiential Narmala Halstead Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Chapter 9 Chekhov as Ethnographic Muse Kirin Narayan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
III. Reaching Out: Popular Writing and Journalism
Chapter 10 On Some Nice Benefits and One Big Challenge of the Second File Anette Nyqvist Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
Chapter 11 The Writer as Anthropologist Oscar Hemer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
Chapter 12 Writing Together: Tensions and Joy between Scholars and Activists Eva-Maria Hardtmann, Vincent Manoharan, Urmila Devi, Jussi Eskola and Swarna Sabrina Francis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
IV. Writing across Genres
Chapter 13 Fiction and Anthropological Understanding: A Cosmopolitan Vision Nigel Rapport Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Chapter 14 On Timely Appearances: Literature, Art, Anthropology Mattias Viktorin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	230
Chapter 15 Digital Narratives in Anthropology Paula Uimonen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Chapter 16 Writing Otherwise Ulf Hannerz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	254
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 288
Keywords: Theory and Methodology

eBook

Published: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 9781785330193