Read: Clifford, "Introduction: Partial Truths" from Writing Culture (ERes article)
Lutz, "The Gender of Theory" (ERes article)
**Rosaldo, Culture and Truth (entire book)

1. In a frequently-cited passage from Clifford's introduction to Writing Culture, he writes, "If 'culture' is not an object to be described, neither is it a unified corpus of symbols and meanings that can be definitively interpreted. Culture is contested, temporal, and emergent. Representation and explanation -- both by insiders and outsiders -- is implicated in this emergence" (19). What does he mean by this? Do you agree with his claim that anthropologists need to develop "rigorous partiality" (25)? What would this "rigorous partiality" look like?

2. How, according to Lutz, are data and theory gendered? Do you find her assessment persuasive?

3. Lutz wrote her article on the gender of theory in part as a critical response to Clifford's claims. What does he argue about feminist ethnography, and how does Lutz answer his critique?

4. What role do emotions, narrative, and subjectivity play in Rosaldo's conception of how anthropologists should conduct research? How does his approach differ from others we have studied?

5. What is Rosaldo's analysis of Geertz's discussion of Cohen, the French, and the Berbers? What do you think of his arguments?

6. Rosaldo argues on page 169 that social analysts should "explore their subjects from a number of positions." What are these positions? What role does ethics play in them? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each?

7. How does Rosaldo analyze the issue of cultural differences? What role does attention to borderlands and border crossings play in his analysis?

Question for Response Paper #8: Ethnography as a Theoretical Practice (due by email before class on November 24)

The book and articles for this week argue that conducting research and writing ethnography are inherently theoretical practices that make claims about self and other, often in ways that, to quote Rosaldo, involve "making the familiar strange and the strange familiar" (39). Based on these readings, use this essay to answer some aspect of the following questions: What do you consider ethnography is or should be? What do anthropologists need to consider in writing about culture? What role does subjectivity, representation, or literary production play? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the theoretical claims discussed in these readings?

For more information, contact: aleshkow@holycross.edu