Local Knowledge: An Anthropologist at Work

University Of San Francisco, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

More than any other attribute of cultural anthropology, ethnographic field research gives the discipline its unique identity and value. Anthropology's signature methodology, particularly participant observation, has been widely borrowed by other disciplines, yet there is often little understanding of what it actually entails. How do cultural anthropologists carry out their research? What exactly do they do in the field? Despite the centrality of fieldwork to the discipline of cultural anthropology, the conduits through which its findings are communicated do not always reach a larger audience. This project seeks to engage a wider audience with anthropological science by producing a documentary film on anthropological field work in North America. The film highlights the value of local or indigenous knowledge in developing better landscape and environmental measures. Older ethnographic films once offered anthropology audiences an inside view of the kind of traditional fieldwork anthropologists did in tribal settings a half-century ago. The current film shows the continuing value of participant observation alongside new methods and their utility in myriad settings. This film will educate general audiences and students alike about what cultural anthropologists actually do today. The film promises to be a valuable resource for anthropology students and for scholars in other disciplines interested in contemporary anthropological research. It illustrates the main elements of field research: from moving into a foreign community, learning the language, clarifying one's role, and gaining rapport to living as closely as possible to the communities of study. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.