Ethnography and Craft Knowledge

Paul Atkinson

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.06

Authors

Paul Atkinson Cardiff University, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.06

Keywords:

Ethnography, Art, Aesthetics, Creativity, Grounded Theory

Abstract

The paper has twin themes: the creative work of ethnographic interpretation, and the ethnographic interpretation of creative work. Illustrated with reference to recent and current fieldwork on craft, dance, and opera, it suggests some ways in which the ethnographer might creatively engage with her or his chosen fields. It criticizes the current view of “grounded theory,” which is found to be far too procedurally driven, in favor of more creative explorations of data.

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Author Biography

Paul Atkinson, Cardiff University, UK

Paul Atkinson is a Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at Cardiff University. He is an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. His latest book is Creating Conditions (coauthored with Katie Featherstone), published in 2011 by Routledge. He was one of the editors of the Routledge Handbook of Genetics and Society. He and Sara Delamont are the founding editors of the Sage journal Qualitative Research. He is currently conducting fieldwork and writing about skills and expertise among potters, printers, glassblowers, and others.

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