Kinder Ethnographic

Ethnographic writing that exchanges narrative and exploration for the exposition of theoretical findings is ultimately a way for ethnographers to maintain power over the uninitiated and even over their participants. This style also serves to distort the unique forms of knowledge that ethnography can provide. The stronger, more intimate writing styles of literary journalists allow more interpretive space for more readers. However, ethnographers must choose those readers directly: It is unlikely that ethnographers will be able to write for both colleagues and the public simultaneously, as they have entirely different criteria for successful writing. This article compares a traditional and a literary ethnography, expands on the above argument on audience, and closes with an example of the author’s work that is aimed explicitly at a general audience. I’ll begin with a story. Before beginning my ethnographic dissertation year, I was scared stiff, of course. Would I be able to get more than cursory access to the teenage community I was traveling 3,000 miles to live with? Would I find any way to make sense of what I saw? Would I be able to offer my participants anythin