Anthropology and the exotic other

[Alterman]

Hey everyone,

In contemporary Anthropology, research "at home" has became more and more popular. While classic Anthropology has always focused on the exotic other, modern (or some might say post-modern) anthropologists allow themselves to focus more and more on their own (usually western) cultures. Having said that, from what I've seen, it seems that only those that first ventured outside and glimpsed that exotic other are "allowed" to research at home. To illustrate the point, take a look at student dissertations in most top Anthropology's graduate programs and you will notice that most of them have been done outside of the US. Some might argue that to study the paradoxes, tensions and cultural assumptions of middle class America, one can go to American Studies or Sociology. One can also adopt the ethnographic methodologies and practice them as part of those disciplines. But what about doing "real" anthropological work at home? While those disciplines might have adopted the ethnographic methodology to a degree, there is still a large epistemological gap between them and Anthropology.

What do you think? Can a PhD student focus his research on middle class American culture, or does he lack the symbolic capital to do so? Can he hope to compete in applying (and later in achieving grants) against more "classical" candidates?

[AKJen]

I think you were getting at something in your question there when you mentioned funding. While it probably shouldn't be a research consideration, many good sources for research funding aren't available for anthropology students working in the US (Fulbright, FLAS, etc.). That being said, about half the people in my program are working within the US.

[GreenePony]

Funding I think would be limited. Looking at the problems my peers had in applying to programs if their focus was too domestic this seems to be a common idea. People have commented that my resume was far more impressive because I did research in Guatemala, especially when compared to peers who stayed in Texas. That being said, in my program there were a number of domestic studies in the assigned readings: Diary of a Winnebago (Midwest), In Search of Respect (Harlem), Danger, Duty and Disillusion (LAPD), in addition to ones on the homeless in California, the peyote cult in the midwest, and a couple of others, so my professors (who focus on the "exotic" maya) seem to want to find a balance between the two.

I guess part of the disparity is that the layman, and in some cases, those that study anthropology, are swayed by the traditional conception of anthropology- all Anthropologists should be like Mead and go to a far off exotic land to study someone who is so different from them. It seems more impressive to make a huge visible effort for your research than to take the "easy" route and stay in country (not that this isn't difficult, if I recall correctly, Bourgois ended up being divorced by his wife for his research after In Search of Respect).