Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Hamburg
Erscheinungsjahr:
2021
Medientyp:
Text
Schlagworte:
Ethnography
journalism
writing techniques
cultural anthropology
readability
ddc:300
Beschreibung:
Being a good ethnographer means, amongst other things, not forgetting the future reader during the writing process. This article discusses one possible approach for crafting reader-friendly ethnographies. I review basic strategies for creating stringent and straightforward texts, drawing on the journalistic canon of Reportage writing, and sketch how I personally apply or modify these techniques when composing an ethnography. I address elements such as clear formulation, coherent argumentation, adequate pars pro toto scenes, vivid language, and the difficult terrain of symbols and metaphors. I also suggest steps for reworking the first draft of the text. I conclude by arguing that cultivating and cherishing a recipient-friendly communication style is vital for the public visibility of cultural and social anthropology.
Lizenzen:
Copyright (c) 2021 Mira Menzfeld
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Quellsystem:
Ethnoscripts - Zeitschrift für aktuelle ethnologische Studien