Being There: The Necessity of Fieldwork

by Daniel Bradburd and BRADBURD D

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560987537
• ISBN13: 9781560987536
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Similarities of Being There

As a student coming from a merely conservative culture, I can relate with the Bradburds' expriences. I find the Komachies and the Malays(dominant ethnicity of Malaysia) having similar culture and tradition because of the religion; Islam. The wedding trays are very alike and men are considered to have more power than women. However, my mom wears the pants in my family ;-). I came directly from Malaysia to upstate Potsdam NY. It 's such a culture shock and quite an interesting experience. I understand the feeling of being FAR away from home....and let me tell you, it ain't easy!

Bradburd takes you "there" and it's worth the trip.

As a friend, fellow ethnographer, and reviewer of other writings by Bradburd, I am very pleased to see this book in paperback (i.e., classroom usable) form and happily recommend it to others. It is highly readable, personally engaging, and very informative about people, settings, and ways of life that are not generally accessible to cultural outsiders -- even other Iranians. That Bradburd is able to help a reader gain an appreciation and understanding of the complexities of Komachi life is a credit to his skill as a writer -- both most of all as a researcher. Well done!

Engagingly written account of 2 years in the Iranian desert

Is it possible to learn anything about another culture without skewing the data just by being there? Dan Bradburd argues that it is, and shows how. For general readers interested in finding out what field work is like, the book provides a diverting account. For anthropologists who think there's no point in going, a convincing argument to the contrary.

Very pleasant read

As the author's daughter this is a biased review, but I do like the book and think it would be helpful to anyone starting fieldwork and interesting to anyone else.