LIVING A "CONVENIENT FICTION"

Authors

Anne Chambers, Southern Oregon UniversityFollow
Keith S. Chambers, Southern Oregon UniversityFollow

Abstract

Long-term fieldwork offers a unique perspective on the complex, interactive process of interpretation on which ethnography depends. Through shared experiences, the ethnographer(s) and host community collaborate in constructing reciprocal identities tailored to their respective needs and the local situation. The mutual expectations and assumptions grounding this relationship become more visible as they are defined by subsequent events and encounters over the years. Our article analyzes some significant and turns in our thirty-year relationship with the Tuvaluan atoll community of Nanumea. In initially defining us as "of the island," the community established us in a local category' resonant with key emic values (community solidarity, equality). As time passed, this fieldwork identity was reinforced, and constrained, by local interactions and decisions. Similarly, research products and opportunities were informed by the expectations the community held regarding our identity. Using a long-term reflexive lens, this case study reveals how complex and interconnected is the process of creating an ethnographic relationship.

Recommended Citation

Chambers, Anne and Chambers, Keith S. (2004) "LIVING A "CONVENIENT FICTION"," Pacific Studies: Vol. 27: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol27/iss2/2