Doubts, compromises, and ideals : attempting a reciprocal life story
Abstract
In this article I reflect on my attempt to co-author a reciprocal life story with my friend Liria de la Cruz, a semi-literate Gypsy/Roma street seller from Madrid⎯a book where we examine together our intertwined stories. Much has been made of the assumed capacity of collaborative methodologies to transform ethnography for the better. Yet as Liria and I try to find ways to work together, we struggle to reconcile our reciprocal approach with the conventions of the ethnographic genre and the expectations of our scholarly audience. I reflect on our difficulties for what they reveal about the complex encounter between the non-hierarchical aims of collaboration and those of academic anthropology.
Citation
Gay y Blasco , P 2017 , ' Doubts, compromises, and ideals : attempting a reciprocal life story ' , Anthropology and Humanism , vol. 42 , no. 1 , pp. 91-108 . https://doi.org/10.1111/anhu.12174
Publication
Anthropology and Humanism
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1559-9167Type
Journal article
Collections
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