Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
providethereaderwithsufficientdatatodeterminewhethertheethnographer's
interpretations and conclusions are warranted.
During the study of the dropout program, I learned about the practice of
arson for hire in the community from a young mother who lived in the neigh-
borhood. Her words conveyed a vivid picture of this crime (Fetterman, 1983).
Corina said that she
woke up to a phone call at two in the morning.The man over the phone said to be
out of the house in 15 minutes because it was going to burn.That's what they do
when it's arson, they call you just like that at two in the morning. I had my rollers
on and I was in my bathrobe, that's all I had. I was on the second floor and my
grandma she was on the third. I can still remember seein' the flames all around
her in her wheelchair. I tried to get her out but I couldn't. I had rheumatic fever
you know, so I'm weak. She was so heavy I just couldn't. I got my babies out but
shewassoheavy.Ijustwatchedherdie.Istillgotothecounty[psychiatrist]even
now. I dream about it. It still frightens me. I couldn't save her. (p. 218)
ThedimensionsofCorina'spersonaltragedyandthepersonalnatureofthis
crime would have been lost in a third-person description. Her own words pro-
vide a concise, accurate, and personal description of the effects of arson for
hire in the community. Thick description and verbatim quotations have
tremendous face validity in ethnography (see Ryles as cited in Geertz, 1973).
ETHNOGRAPHIC PRESENT
Ethnographies are usually written in the ethnographic present. The ethno-
graphic present is a slice of life—a motionless image. This literary illusion
suggests that the culture stands still through time—even after the time that the
ethnographydescribes.Ethnographersarekeenlyawareofchangeinsociocul-
tural systems. They often focus on change in a program, a culture, or any
group. Fieldwork may have taken years, but the ethnographer writes about the
eventsasiftheyareoccurringinthepresent.Thisconventionispartlyamatter
of linguistic convenience. It is also a way to maintain consistency in descrip-
tion and to keep the story alive, however. Fundamentally, the ethnographer
uses the present tense because fieldwork—which could continue indefi-
nitely—mustendatsomearbitrarypoint.Fieldworkisneverdone;itisjustter-
minated. Time and other resources are not inexhaustible, and natives tire of
being observed. The ethnographer realizes that no matter how long the study,
the culture will change the moment the fieldwork ends. The best the ethnog-
raphercandoistodescribethecultureasaccuratelyaspossibleuptothepoint
