Ethnography 
Name: Hazirah Suhaillah Abdullah (08456762)
Is ethnography fact or fiction?
Writing ethnography is always a sensitive proposition since it involves representing a culture and social realities with countless factors to be taken into consideration, for example: power. Although, at times one still hears of it referred to as ideal and neutral ethnography that yields reality in the way it is presented without being questioned, criticised and diagnosed by personal values (Pratt, 1986:27). Ethnography cannot be easily pinned down and categorised as to whether it is fact or fiction. That type of labelling could probably never do justice to the concept and practice considering ethnography metamorphosis over time; as in the immortal words of James Clifford, “ethnography decodes and recodes, telling the grounds of collective order and diversity, inclusion and exclusion. It describes processes of innovation and structuration, and is itself a part of these processes” (1986:2). It varies to suit certain expectation in any given social context and history. It should be borne in mind that to most people; the very word ‘fact’ is generally associated with truth whilst fiction is a concept that deals with creativity and imagination. However it must be noted that the borderline between fact and fiction is very much a grey area and in many cases and situations - especially, it seems ethnography, they actually blend and fuse together in many situations (Clifford, 1986:25). Therefore and consequently, it will be posited that ethnography is neither fact nor fiction rather a fusion of both. The debate surrounding ethnography has always hinged on this very question: is it fact or fiction and how can this be satisfactorily and effectively resolved for the general academic community, especially proponents of pure science, so that the ethnographer does not become a laughing stock. It is in here that the problems encountered by ethnographers in writing ethnography shall be reviewed.
Is ethnography fact or fiction?
Writing ethnography is always a sensitive proposition since it involves representing a culture and social realities with countless factors to be taken into consideration, for example: power. Although, at times one still hears of it referred to as ideal and neutral ethnography that yields reality in the way it is presented without being questioned, criticised and diagnosed by personal values (Pratt, 1986:27). Ethnography cannot be easily pinned down and categorised as to whether it is fact or fiction. That type of labelling could probably never do justice to the concept and practice considering ethnography metamorphosis over time; as in the immortal words of James Clifford, “ethnography decodes and recodes, telling the grounds of collective order and diversity, inclusion and exclusion. It describes processes of innovation and structuration, and is itself a part of these processes” (1986:2). It varies to suit certain expectation in any given social context and history. It should be borne in mind that to most people; the very word ‘fact’ is generally associated with truth whilst fiction is a concept that deals with creativity and imagination. However it must be noted that the borderline between fact and fiction is very much a grey area and in many cases and situations - especially, it seems ethnography, they actually blend and fuse together in many situations (Clifford, 1986:25). Therefore and consequently, it will be posited that ethnography is neither fact nor fiction rather a fusion of both. The debate surrounding ethnography has always hinged on this very question: is it fact or fiction and how can this be satisfactorily and effectively resolved for the general academic community, especially proponents of pure science, so that the ethnographer does not become a laughing stock. It is in here that the problems encountered by ethnographers in writing ethnography shall be reviewed.
Bibliography: Clifford, J. (1986). Introduction: Partial Truths. In: J. Clifford and G. E. Marcus, eds., Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. United States of America Berkeley: University of California Press Ltd. Langnes, L., L. and Frank. G (1978). Fact, Fiction and the Ethnographic Novel. Anthropology and Humanism Quarterly, 3 (1-2), pp. 18 – 22. Metcalf, P. (2002). They Lie, We Lie: Getting on with Anthropology. London: Routledge Malinowski, B. (1984). Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. United States of America: Waveland Press, Inc. Pratt, L., M. (1986). Fieldwork in Common Places. In: J. Clifford and G. E. Marcus, eds., Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. United States of America, Berkeley: University of California Press Ltd. Steward, K. (1996). A Space on the Side of the Road: Cultural Poetics in an ‘Other’ America. United States of America, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Tsing, A., L. (2005). Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection. United States of America, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Urbanowicz, F., C. (1976). Culture: Fact or Fiction? [Online] Chico, California: California State University. Available from: http://www.csuchico.edu/~curbanowicz/Forum/Cultures1976.html [Accessed 12 May 2011]