Auto-Ethnographies: The Anthropology of Academic Practices

by Anne Meneley (Editor), Donna J. Young (Editor)

How has the "business" of higher education affected the environment in which academics work? Who should be able to hold anthropologists ethically responsible—the research institution that sponsors the fieldwork or the community of people being studied? What happens when academics step out of the ivory tower and into the public realm? Why and how, do some anthropologists come undone by the challenges of the academy? These are some of the questions posed in this innovative collection of essays. Accessibly written, ethnographically grounded, and theoretically informed, this volume faces contentious issues with honesty, integrity, and the occasional bout of humour. It touches on issues of ethics, teaching, the politics of peer review, and the ironies involved in attempting to make anthropology relevant in wider circles. It offers rare insight into the challenges and dilemmas that mark contemporary scholarship.

Genres: Anthropology

255 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2005

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2007 or early 2008.

To be honest, I don't remember how I felt about the collection as a whole, but it was through this text that I became acquainted with David Graeber, whose influence and absence are deeply felt.

[Drick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book to get an idea of what makes an autoethnography an autoethnography - this was to be a collection of autoethnography. Either I don't know what one is, or this is just a not a very good set of examples. Some interesting reading about the culture of higher ed, but not helpful for my purposes.