Fieldwork Connections : The Fabric of Ethnographic Collaboration in China and America

Fieldwork Connections tells the story of the intertwined research histories of three anthropologists working in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China in the late twentieth century. Chapters are written alternately by a male American anthropologist, a male researcher raised in a village in Liangshan, and a highly educated woman from an elite Nuosu/Chinese family. As decades of mutual ethnographic research unfold, the authors enter one another's narratives and challenge the reader to ponder the nature of ethnographic "truth." The book begins with short accounts of the process by which each of the authors became involved in anthropological field research. It then proceeds to describe the research itself, and the stories begin to connect as they become active collaborators. The scene shifts in the course of the narrative from China to America, and the relationship between the authors shifts from distant, wary, and somewhat hierarchical to close, egalitarian, and reciprocal. The authors share their histories through personal stories, not technical analyses; their aim is to entertain while addressing the process of ethnography and the dynamics of international and intercultural communication. Quotes: "I used Fieldwork Connections in my Chinese Ethnographies course last quarter, and the students really liked it. Both the students and I thought that it gave them a much better idea of field research methods and issues than other ethnographies had done. They also liked the comparison of different researchers experiences with each other, in China, and in the US. It sparked some very productive seminar discussion about research methods and ethics. I strongly recommend it. " - Melissa J. Brown, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Stanford University -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reviews: "This is a jargon-free, readable revelation of the quotidian details and myriad tasks behind gathering ethnographic data, as well as the questions ethnographers must regularly ask. . . . a remarkably interesting, accessible account of how ethnographers work." - Publisher's Weekly -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: Preface to the English Edition Acknowledgments PART I: ORIGINS 1 Growing up Half Yi / Bamo Ayi 2 In the Shadow of the Han / Ma Lunzy 3 A White Guy Discovers Anthropology / Stevan Harrell PART II: CHINA 4 Yinchang: My First Fieldwork, 1987-88 / Bamo Ayi 5 Getting Started in Southwest China, 1987-88 / Stevan Harrell 6 Chasing after Bimo, 1992-93 / Bamo Ayi 7 Getting Started Again, 1991 / Stevan Harrell 8 First Contact, 1991 / Ma Lunzy 9 Almost Real Fieldwork, 1993 / Stevan Harrell 10 In the Month of the Snake , 1993 / Ma Lunzy 11 Fieldwork with Muga, 1994 / Bamo Ayi 12 Getting Further Implicated, 1994 / Stevan Harrell 13 The Last Time I Led the Horse, 1994 / Ma Lunzy 14 The Bimo in the Modern World, 1994-95 / Bamo Ayi PART III: AMERICA 15 The First International Yi Conference, 1995 / Ma Lunzy 16 Seattle First Free Methodist Church, 1996-97 / Bamo Ayi 17 Collecting Mountain Patterns, 1999 / Ma Lunzy 18 Conceptualizing Mountain Patterns, 2000 / Bamo Qubumo 19 Celebrating Mountain Patterns, 2000 / Stevan Harrell Epilogue: Fieldwork Connections and the Process of Ethnography / Stevan Harrell Cast of Characters Chinese and Nuosu Glossary Bibliography Index 'fieldwork Connections' Tells The Story Of The Intertwined Research Histories Of Three Anthropologists Working In Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China In The Late 20th Century. Growing Up Half Yi / Bamo Ayi -- In The Shadow Of The Han / Ma Lunzy -- White Guy Discovers Anthropology / Stevan Harrell -- Yinchang : My First Fieldwork, 1987-88 / Bamo Ayi -- Getting Started In Southwest China, 1987-88 / Stevan Harrell -- Chasing After Bimo, 1992-93 / Bamo Ayi -- Getting Started Again, 1991 / Stevan Harrell -- First Contact, 1991 / Ma Lunzy -- Almost Real Fieldwork, 1993 / Stevan Harrell -- In The Month Of The Snake, 1993 / Ma Lunzy -- Fieldwork With Muga, 1994 / Bamo Ayi -- Getting Further Implicated, 1994 / Stevan Harrell -- Last Time I Led The Horse, 1994 / Ma Lunzy -- Bimo In The Modern World, 1994-95 / Bamo Ayi -- First International Yi Conference, 1995 / Ma Lunzy -- Seattle First Free Methodist Church, 1996-97 / Bamo Ayi -- Collecting Mountain Patterns, 1999 / Ma Lunzy -- Conceptualizing Mountain Patterns, 2000 / Bamo Qubumo -- Celebrating Mountain Patterns ; Epilogue, Fieldwork Connections And The Process Of Ethnography / Stevan Harrell. Bamo Ayi, Stevan Harrell, Ma Lunzy ; With A Contribution By Bamo Qubumo. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 311-314) And Index.

Fieldwork Connections tells the story of the intertwined research histories of three anthropologists working in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China in the late twentieth century. Chapters are written alternately by a male American anthropologist, a male researcher raised in a village in Liangshan, and a highly educated woman from an elite Nuosu/Chinese family. As decades of mutual ethnographic research unfold, the authors enter one another's narratives and challenge the reader to ponder the nature of ethnographic �truth.�

The book begins with short accounts of the process by which each of the authors became involved in anthropological field research. It then proceeds to describe the research itself, and the stories begin to connect as they become active collaborators. The scene shifts in the course of the narrative from China to America, and the relationship between the authors shifts from distant, wary, and somewhat hierarchical to close, egalitarian, and reciprocal.

The authors share their histories through personal stories, not technical analyses; their aim is to entertain while addressing the process of ethnography and the dynamics of international and intercultural communication.