Routledge Among Wolves: Ethnography and the Immersive Study of Power (Routledge Series on Interpretive Methods)

Summoned by an anonymous Prosecutor, ten contemporary ethnographers gather in an aging barn to hold a trial of Alice Goffman’s controversial ethnography, On the Run. But before the trial can get underway, a one-eyed wolfdog arrives with a mysterious liquid potion capable of rendering the ethnographers invisible in their fieldsites. Presented as a play that unfolds in seven acts, the ensuing drama provides readers with both a practical guide for how to conduct immersive participant-observation research and a sophisticated theoretical engagement with the relationship between ethnography as a research method and the operation of power. By interpolating "how-to" aspects of ethnographic research with deeper questions about ethnography’s relationship to power, this book presents a compelling introduction for those new to ethnography and rich theoretical insights for more seasoned ethnographic practitioners from across the social sciences. Just as ethnography as a research method depends crucially on serendipity, surprise, and an openness to ambiguity, the book’s dramatic and dialogic format encourages novices and experts alike to approach the study of power in ways that resist linear programs and dogmatic prescriptions. The result is a playful yet provocative invitation to rekindle those foundational senses of wonder and generative uncertainty that are all too often excluded from conversations about the methodologies and methods we bring to the study of the social world. Review HONORABLE MENTION: 2019 CHARLES TAYLOR BOOK AWARD Excerpt from the Award 'In this dramatic reimagining of discussion of ethnographic methods as a conversation between a cast of ethnographers brought together for an ethnographic trial, Among Wolves transcends the limitations of writing a methods book in both content and form. The device of a play enables Pachirat to present lively, rich and multifaceted discussion of issues of positionality, reflexivity, ethics and many other challenges facing researchers using ethnographic methods. The format is exceptionally engaging, with the fact that the questions raised are rightly left unresolved encouraging the reader to reflect critically on their own approaches and role in research. Pachirat has succeeded in showing not only how ethnography can be practised, but also in making a compelling case for why it cannot be separated from considerations of power. Among Wolves is an extremely welcome and refreshing addition to discussions of interpretive methods that adroitly illustrates Charles Taylor’s argument that "interpretation is essential to explanation" and which offers much to both students and practitioners of ethnographic methods alike.' ‘When is the last time you encountered a new scholastic format? Among Wolves does something radical. It will surely provoke, likely enrage, but most of all force readers to think anew. For those looking to move beyond staid ways of knowing and writing: this is the book for you.'―Shamus Khan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Columbia University 'This play is an extraordinary piece of scholarship. It really made me think-- about ethnography, about academia and about the many faces of knowledge. It should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding ethnography and for all those who seek to understand social science as a body of practices that collectively illuminate and improve the human condition.'―Katherine Cramer, Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison ‘Staged as a play in seven acts, Among the Wolves is an inventive, lively, uncommonly rich extended seminar on the joys and challenges of ethnography. In a series of imagined, ingeniously crafted conversations among prominent ethnographers, Pachirat explores the tensions between emic and etic forms of knowledge; current anxieties about the reliability of ethnographic evidence; the importance of reflexivity and the attunement to scholarly "positio