Ethnography: What It Is

Ethnography, to me, seems like the perfect intersection of investigative journalism and creative nonfiction. As seen in the first ten pages of Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, she points to studies created by the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Preamble Center for Public Policy, and the Economic Policy Institute, to substantiate her claims about the state of the economy and the job market during the years of her experiment. Moffat in Coming of Age in New Jersey and Griffin in Black Like Me, talk about finding entry points--these liminal spaces where they will be able to enter their experiment unnoticed--with the goal of being able to eavesdrop on, and form connections with, the groups they are researching. That is the most compelling aspect of ethnography in my opinion. The deceptive quality of their investigations is controversial at best, offensive at worst, and so very interesting to read. Griffin, after checking into his dorm at Rutgers, says, "my five roommates immediately started exchanging initial confidences. I threw in the occasional friendly remark, but I mostly listened, fascinated and slightly nervous about my acceptance by them (Moffat 3). This spy-like need to ingratiate oneself into a community that one is not a part of is provocative. All three of these writers are perusing similar ends in this regard, but while Moffatt's reveal is met with surprise and Ehrenreich's reveal is met with disinterest ("The result was always stunningly anticlimactic"), Griffin's reveal could get him or others around him killed (Ehrenreich 9). He says on page 7, while undergoing his transformation, "I nevertheless did not want to involve [my host] in any way, since reprisals might be taken against him by bigots or by his associates, who might resent his role as my host once my story become known (Griffin 7). This is how ethnography--or, at least, the ethnographies written by these three authors--go beyond objective  journalism. The authors plunge themselves into the investigation mind, body, and soul, and realize that if they are caught, the investigation is done. For even if they say they are a writer and continue the investigation, the attitudes of the group will surely change. The trust built up may even vanish. That does not seem to happen with Moffat, though. He tells his roommates who he is, but they still prank him and "bust on" him as if he were not a professor (Moffat 11). His reading of the New York Times, however, and his laughter at the jokes of Dave Marriah, as well as Griffin's naïveté during the incident with the white woman on the bus, illustrate just how quickly the authors' interests can betray their biases. I have done ethnography once before, and while my experience lasted only an hour or so, (I entered the Writing Center with the hopes of investigating their practices), I was torn between exposing myself to get the answer I wanted to know faster, and the spy game that I find so compelling. Ultimately, I did keep myself hidden under the guise of student-in-need-of-help. To stain oneself black, or to give up days and weeks to investigate the near-impoverished or college youths takes dedication and guts. Ethnography is investigative journalism turned to eleven. Or it can be. It cetianly does not have to be. Mine probably will not be. But I'll try.