Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities
Ebook
Ebooks are designed for reading and have few connections to your library.
Overview
Feminist Ethnography, Second Edition, is an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural introduction to the methods, challenges, and possibilities of feminist ethnography. Dána-Ain Davis and Christa Craven use a problem-based approach—focused on inquiry and investigation—to present a feminist framework for thinking critically about how we document everyday experiences.
The book begins with an introduction to feminist perspectives, their meanings over time, and a brief history of feminist ethnography. Then the authors examine feminist methodologies, answering the question, how does one do feminist ethnography, and investigates common challenges such as ethical dilemmas and logistical constraints faced during fieldwork. Finally, Davis and Craven discuss what it means to be a feminist activist ethnographer, including advocacy efforts and engagement with public policy, and ask students to consider: what is your vision for the future of feminist ethnography?
New to this Edition:
- Six new interviews with feminist ethnographers include reflections on the intersections of trans studies, disability studies, and the Cite Black Women movement
- New section on safety, accessibility, and fieldwork to address the risks all ethnographers face, but in particular those who challenge long-held assumptions that ethnographers are (all) white, Western, able-bodied, well-funded, cisgender, and usually male
- Enhanced discussion of virtual ethnography in the wake of COVID-19
- Added content on transgender/nonbinary experiences and disability studies
3/10/22, Choice: This book was featured in a roundup of forthcoming Women's & Gender Studies titles.
Link: https://www.choice360.org/choice-pick/forthcoming-titles-in-womens-gender-studies-2022/
New to this Edition:
- Six new interviews with feminist ethnographers include reflections on the intersections of trans studies, disability studies, and the Cite Black Women movement
- New section on safety, accessibility, and fieldwork to address the risks all ethnographers face, but in particular those who challenge long-held assumptions that ethnographers are (all) white, Western, able-bodied, well-funded, cisgender, and usually male
- Enhanced discussion of virtual ethnography in the wake of COVID-19
- Added content on transgender/nonbinary experiences and disability studies
- Over half the text boxes feature work by scholars of color and are strategic in highlighting work by international researchers, queer and trans/nonbinary scholars, and cisgender men who identify as feminist ethnographers to showcase a diversity of feminist approaches
- Each chapter takes a “problem-based” approach guided by several critical questions to highlight important concepts for students
- “Spotlights,” or excerpts from interviews, explore the meaning and practice of feminist ethnography from a broad range of perspectives, including feminist ethnographers who have contributed to the field from the 1960s to the present
- “Essentials,” or excerpts of texts considered “classics” or influential texts, give students a deeper sense of the history and practice of feminist ethnography, while “Thinking Through” activities encourage students to reflect on the challenges and possibilities of feminist ethnographic approaches
- “Suggested Resources” at the end of each chapter allow students to pursue topics in greater depth, and bolded key terms are defined in the book’s glossary to develop a language for discussing ethnographic methods
- Situates feminist methodology in historical context that highlights the influences of BIPOC ethnographers
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface to the Second Edition xv
About the Authors xix
Timeline xxi
Introduction 1
Thinking Through This Text 3
Unique Features of This Book 4
1 What Is the “Feminist” in Feminist Ethnography? 7
Spotlight: Zenzele Isoke on Feminist Concepts 8
What Is Feminist Ethnography? 9
Spotlight: Dyese Osaze on Meaningful Ethnography 12
Essential: Commentary on Doing Feminist Ethnography by Rosemarie A. Roberts 13
Spotlight: Scott L. Morgensen on the Influence of Feminist Ethnography 15
What Contributed to the History of Feminisms? 15
Reconsidering “The Waves” 15
The Time of Suffrage 17
Essential: A Portion of the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, July 19, 1848 17
Radical Movement Building 19
Expanding a Feminist Legacy 22
Thinking Through . . . Foremothers of Feminism 23
How Are Feminist Perspectives Categorized? 24
Spotlight: Gayle Rubin’s Influence 26
Essential: Excerpt from the Combahee River Collective Statement 28
Essential: Excerpt from “Under Western Eyes Revisited” by Chandra Talpade Mohanty 30
Thinking Through . . . Feminisms 31
Conclusion 31
Thinking Through . . . Feminist Perspectives and Key Texts 32
2 Historicizing Feminist Ethnography 35
Who Were Some of the Early Contributors to Feminist Ethnography? 36
Essential: Excerpt from The Omaha Tribe by Alice Fletcher and Francis LaFlesche 37
How Did Feminist Ethnography Mature between the 1920s and 1960s? 40
Essential: Excerpt from Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston 41
What Impact Did the Women’s Movement of the 1960s Have on the Next Phase of Feminist Ethnographic Production? (1960s–1980s) 42
Thinking Through . . . Restudying Culture 43
Spotlight: Florence Babb on the Impact of Woman, Culture, and Society and Toward an Anthropology of Women 44
Essential: Excerpt from “Too Queer for College” by Esther Newton 46
Spotlight: Louise Lamphere on the Legacy of Lamphere v. Brown 48
Thinking Through . . . Faculty Composition at Your Institution 50
What Interventions Came Out of Feminist Ethnography from the 1990s Through the Present? 50
Essential: Excerpt from “Methodological Gifts in Latina/o Studies and Feminist Anthropology” by Gina Pérez 52
Spotlight: C. Riley Snorton on Feminist Anthropology and Trans Studies 55
Spotlight: Lee Baker on Feminist Histories 57
Conclusion 58
Thinking Through . . . Critiques and Reviews of an Ethnography 58
3 Debates and Interventions in Feminist Ethnography 61
Who Should Be Claimed as a Feminist Ethnographer? 62
Essential: Excerpt from Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith 63
Can There Be a Feminist Ethnography? 64
Essential: Excerpt from “Can There Be a Feminist Ethnography?” by Judith Stacey 65
Essential: Excerpt from Feminism and Method by Nancy A. Naples 68
How Have Feminist Ethnographers Approached the Insider/Outsider Dilemma? 69
Essential: Excerpt from “Feminist Insider Dilemmas” by Patricia Zavella 70
Spotlight: Shannon Speed on Fieldwork and Identity 72
What Is the Role of Citational Politics in Feminist Ethnography? 75
Spotlight / Essential: Christen A. Smith on Citing Black Women 76
Essential: Excerpt from “Making Feminist Points,” on the feministkilljoys Blog by Sara Ahmed 80
Thinking Through . . . An Intellectual Genealogy 81
Can an Ethnographer’s Personal Experience Be a Part of a Study? 81
Spotlight: Laura Mauldin on the Impact of Life Experiences 82
How Involved or Engaged Should a Feminist Ethnographer Be? 84
Spotlight: Brenna McCaffrey on the Political Stakes of Feminist Ethnography 85
Spotlight: Mary L. Gray on the Labor of Feminist Ethnography 86
Conclusion 88
Thinking Through . . . What Would a Feminist Ethnographer Do? 88
4 How Does One Do Feminist Ethnography? 91
Essential: Excerpt from “Feminist Methodology . . .” by Faye V. Harrison 92
How Should a Feminist Ethnographer Choose a Topic? 94
Spotlight: Elisabeth Engebretsen on Choosing Methods and Shifting Knowledge 95
What Methods Have Been Useful to Feminist Ethnographers? 97
Participant-Observation 98
Essential: Excerpt from Queer Activism in India by Naisargi Dave 99
Ethnographic Interviewing 100
Spotlight: Class of 2021 Undergraduates on Fieldwork during a Pandemic 102
Oral History/Life History 106
Spotlight: Tracy Fisher on Using Oral/Life History to Address Feminist Ethnographic Questions 106
Survey 108
Analysis of Cultural Material 109
Social Media Research 110
Ethnohistory 113
Spotlight: Whitney Battle-Baptiste on Historical Archaeology and Literary Fiction 114
Participatory Research 115
Essential: Excerpt from “Photovoice” by Caroline C. Wang and Mary Ann Burris 116
Interpretive Communities 118
Conclusion 119
Thinking Through . . . Three Options to Explore Methodological Possibilities 120
Thinking Through . . . Word Cloud Magic! 120
5 Challenges for Feminist Ethnographers 123
Spotlight: Elizabeth Chin on Envisioning a Feminist IRB Process 125
What Logistical Constraints Arise in Feminist Ethnographic Research? 126
Essential: Excerpt from “Following as Method” in Mobile Subjects: Transnational Imaginaries of Gender Reassignment by Aren Z. Aizura 128
Essential: Excerpt from “Cast among Outcastes” by Delores Walters 131
Essential: Excerpt from “Toward a Fugitive Anthropology: Gender, Race, and Violence in the Field,” by Maya J. Berry, Claudia Chávez Argüelles, Shanya Cordis, Sarah Ihmoud, Elizabeth Velásquez Estrada 134
How Do Ethical Concerns Shape the Research Encounter? 136
Thinking Through . . . Difficult Ethnographic Experiences 137
Spotlight: Loretta J. Ross on Working with Former Skinhead White Supremacists 138
Spotlight: Tanya Erzen on the Politics of Reciprocity and Mediation 141
How Can We Assess the (Potential) Impacts of Feminist Ethnography? 144
Spotlight: Kiersten Downs on “Feminist Curiosity” and Stamina 144
Spotlight: Sandra Morgen on Movement Building 146
Thinking Through . . . Ethical Dilemmas 148
Conclusion 148
6 Producing Feminist Ethnography 151
How Does One Write Feminist Ethnography? 152
Essential: Excerpt from Alive in the Writing by Kirin Narayan 156
Essential: Excerpt from Progressive Dystopia: Abolition, Antiblackness and Schooling in San Francisco by Savannah Shange 157
Essential: Excerpt from Playing with Fire by the Sangtin Writers Collective and Richa Nagar 160
What Creative Possibilities Exist for Writing and Circulating Feminist Ethnography? 161
Spotlight: Asale Angel-Ajani on Writing (Without Swagger) 162
Fiction 163
Essential: Excerpt from A World of Babies by Judy DeLoache and Alma Gottlieb 164
Parallel Writing 165
Autoethnography and Ethnographic Memoir 166
Essential: Excerpt from Downtown Ladies, “My Jelly Platform Shoes” by Gina Athena Ulysse 167
Thinking Through . . . Citational Politics, Revisited in the Age of #MeToo 170
How Can We Make Feminist Ethnography Publicly Accessible? 170
Spotlight: Harjant Gill on Film as a Powerful Feminist Medium 172
How Do Feminist Ethnographers Engage in Creative and Artistic Projects? 175
Thinking Through . . . Experimental Design 176
Conclusion 177
Thinking Through . . . Developing Creative Ethnography 178
7 Feminist Activist Ethnography 181
What Does It Mean to Be a Feminist Activist Ethnographer? 183
Thinking Through . . . Engaging in Public Scholarship 185
What Should Feminist Activist Ethnography Seek to Accomplish? 185
Essential: Excerpt from “Water Is Life—Meters Out!” by Susan Brin Hyatt 186
Is Feminist Ethnography Inherently Activist? 187
What Forms Can Feminist Activist Ethnography Take? 189
Essential: Excerpt from Black Autonomy: Race, Gender, and Afro-Nicaraguan Activism by Jennifer Goett 190
Collaboration and Participatory Action Research 190
Essential: Excerpt from “Makes Me Mad! Stereotypes of Young Urban Womyn of Color” by the Fed Up Honeys 191
Social Media and Film 194
Spotlight: Tom Boellstorff on New Technologies and Activism 194
Thinking Through . . . Working with Activists 196
Spotlight: Michelle Téllez on Activism Through Storytelling in Visual Media 196
Serving as an Interlocutor 197
Essential: Excerpt from “Introduction: Comparative Perspectives on the Indigenous Rights Movement in Africa and the Americas” by Dorothy Hodgson 198
How Can Feminist Activist Ethnographers Reflect upon Our Practice? 199
Spotlight: Leith Mullings on Keeping Feminist Ethnography Meaningful 201
Conclusion 201
8 Thinking Through the Futures of Feminist Ethnography 205
Glossary 209
Bibliography 213
Index 231
I was so excited when the 1st edition of Feminist Ethnography was released that I created a Feminist Ethnography course at Spelman College that I have now taught four times since Spring 2016. Every semester, my students are incredibly enthusiastic about the book. They were very engaged with the material and inspired by the careful attention that the authors paid to ethical dilemmas and the role of activism in research. I am even more excited to teach the second edition of Feminist Ethnography, which includes more of a focus on social media, digital humanities, and a reflection on current social movements and struggles, and cites the latest cutting-edge scholarship in feminist ethnography. This text is a guidebook, a blueprint, and perhaps even a “Bible” for students and scholars who seek to do engaged, activist-oriented, feminist ethnographic research that will make a difference in the world.
Feminism is not one thing; ethnography is never static. Putting these together, the praxis of this text shows the power of working in community through a feminist lens to make research, theory and the world simultaneously better. This thorough examination of the thing called feminist ethnography paired with the multivocal examples that jump off these pages to give life to this rich, ethical practice show us why we continue to urgently need more feminisms.
This book is essential for any feminist student-researcher or aspiring ethnographer. The latest edition is especially helpful for its informative explanations of terms, their politics, and how to use them.
- Title: Feminist Ethnography: Thinking through Methodologies, Challenges, and Possibilities
- Authors: Dána-Ain Davis, Christa Craven
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Pages: 272
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781538129814, 9781538129791, 1538129795, 1538129817
- Resource ID: LLS:9781538129814
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T02:33:33Z
Dána-Ain Davis is professor of urban studies and anthropology at Queens College and Graduate Center, City University of New York, and directs the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the Graduate Center.
Christa Craven is a professor of anthropology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at the College of Wooster, and currently serves as Dean for Faculty Development.