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On Desmond: the limits of spontaneous sociology.
- Source :
- Theory & Society; Sep2017, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p261-284, 24p
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Matthew Desmond's 'Relational ethnography,' is a manifesto for a relational turn in ethnography, liberating it from the 'substantialism' of bounded places, processed people and group culture. Substantialism, however, proves to be a largely mythical category that obscures two types of relational ethnography: Desmond's empiricist transactional ethnography and an alternative, theoretically driven structural ethnography. Drawing on Desmond's own ethnographies, On the Fireline and Evicted, I explore the limitations of his transactional ethnography-a 'spontaneous sociology' that rejects the theoretical engagement and comparative logic. I elaborate and illustrate structural ethnography, drawing out the implications for public and policy sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- ETHNOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
HUMAN beings
EMPIRICISM
RATIONALISM
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03042421
- Volume :
- 46
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Theory & Society
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 125325355
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-017-9294-2