On Ethnography: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research

by Shirley Brice Heath, Brian V. Street

Two experienced and esteemed ethnographers examine how to use ethnographic methods to conduct research in language and literacy. The authors begin by mapping some of the developments in ethnography across the last century, from colonial interests to contemporary studies of migration, multiculturalism, and global citizenship. The authors then draw from their own field work and that of a novice ethnographer to inform a succession of chapters on research questions, field notes, and analysis. Throughout, the book stresses that "doing ethnography" involves engagement with public life and cannot be separated out as an academic activity.

Genres: Ethnography, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2008

Reviews

[library fairy]

Yet another grad school book that I was not particularly interested in, but at least I can count it on GR

[Kyle]

The field of ethnography seems to be a strange cross between anthropology, psychology and sociology: all of which are attempts to understand the ways in which humans interact with each other in a society. For the field of language and literacy, the team of Shirley Brice Heath and Brian Street make an effective co-authoring team (while taken individually they can be a little two much). Especially good news for Molly Mills, whose off-the-beaten-track research project got so attention from both authors that they structured their book around her juggling participant, Roger.

[Kieraanne]

Read this for a Library Science class. It was interesting to see where the world of Ethnography has gone since I was last in Anthropology grad school twenty years ago. My professor chose this book because she felt it was the most "approachable" to help "teach us how to do ethnography." While interesting, I still feel that "doing ethnography" is one of those things you can't really be taught in the abstract, but that you can only learn in the actual doing. I also found it interesting how the authors went to such an effort to put the researcher "Molly" into the narrative and spoke so many times about how important it was to do this, yet said nothing about themselves, only crediting Molly as a source.

[Rachel]

I am not a fan of ethnography.

[Olivia]

idk HOW a book about studying a man juggle can be so dense

[Penny]

revisiting this one now that I am writing my methods chapter. SO SO SO helpful.

[Jennifer]

Lots of helpful advice, but I've been spoiled on reading fiction again lately and it's SLOW going!