Further Readings and Resources

Suggested Ethnographic Studies

Abu-Lughod, L. (2000). Veiled sentiments: Honor and poetry in a Bedouin society. Berkeley: University of California Press.

This is an ethnographic study of gender relations, veiling, and the Bedouin code of honor based on two years of fieldwork in a Bedouin community in northern Egypt.

Bourgois, P. I. (1995). In search of respect: Selling crack in El Barrio. New York: Cambridge University Press.

This ethnography of crack cocaine use in New York's Spanish Harlem epitomizes the challenge of ethnographic observation in high-risk settings.

Crapanzano, V. (1985). Tuhami: Portrait of a Moroccan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. The study of an illiterate Moroccan tile maker is written as an experimental ethnography.

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1940). The Nuer: A description of the modes of livelihood and political institutions of a Nilotic people. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.

Evans-Pritchard delineates the Neur lineage system in this classic ethnographic account of the social organization of pastoralists in Sudan.

Holland, D. C., & Eisenhart, M. A. (1992). Educated in romance: Women, achievement, and college culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

This educational ethnography on gender relations and romantic and academic success is based on ten years of fieldwork with college women.

Lareau, A. (2000). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

In this educational ethnography the author examines socioeconomic status and parental involvement in two elementary schools.

MacLeod, J. (1987). Ain't no makin' it: Leveled aspirations in a low-income neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview.

In this urban ethnography MacLeod theorizes on social reproduction, inequality, and the social mobility of young men in a public housing project.

Malinowski, B. (1922). Argonauts of the western Pacific. Long Grove, IL: Waveland.

Malinowski's ethnography on kula (shell necklace and armband) exchange among the Trobriand Islanders set the stage for modern ethnographic fieldwork.

Mead, M. (1928). Coming of age in Samoa; a psychological study of primitive youth for Western civilization. New York: William Morrow.

Mead's ethnographic fieldwork among Samoan youth, highly publicized upon publication, has been contested by succeeding anthropologists.

Riemer, F. (2001). Working at the margins: Moving off welfare in America. Albany: State University of New York Press.

The author's ethnographic research finds the transition from welfare to work to be a mechanism for social reproduction in urban America.

Whyte, W. F. (1943). Street corner society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Whyte's urban ethnography of the intricate street worlds of “Cornerville,” an Italian American slum in Boston's North End, is considered a classic in sociological research.

Other Suggested Readings

Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. (1986). Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.

The authors examine ethnographic realism and offer new ways of writing ethnography to reflect the postmodern world system.

Fetterman, D. M. (1989). Ethnography: Step by step. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

This is a guide to conducting ethnographic research.

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.

This book contains classic essays on culture, its role in social life, and how it ought to be studied.

Marcus, G. E. (1998). Ethnography through thick and thin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

This is an examination of the current state of ethnographic research and writing.

Wolcott, H. F. (1999). Ethnography: A way of seeing. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

This is an examination of the distinct nature of ethnography and what it means to conduct research in the ethnographic tradition.

Organizations and Web Sites

American Anthropological Association (AAA) (www.aaanet.org/)

Founded in 1902, the AAA is the world's largest organization of individuals interested in anthropology.

Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (www.gse.upenn.edu/cue/forum)

This is the largest annual meeting of qualitative researchers in education.

Anthropology & Education Quarterly (www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0161-7761)

This peer-reviewed journal publishes ethnographic research on schooling in social and cultural contexts and on human learning both inside and outside of schools.

Ethnography (http://eth.sagepub.com/)

This is an international, interdisciplinary journal for the ethnographic study of social and cultural change.

Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) (www.sfaa.net/)

This professional society promotes the investigation of human behavior and practical applications to contemporary issues.

University of Surrey's Computer Assisted Qualitative Data AnalysiS (CAQDAS)

Networking Project (www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology/research/researchcentres/caqdas/) The site provides practical support, training, and information on software programs designed to assist with qualitative data analysis. The site follows debates concerning methodological and epistemological issues arising from the use of software packages, and the project supports research into methodological applications of CAQDAS.