Deconstructing Ethnography (eBook)

Acknowledgements 8
Contents 10
About the Authors 12
Chapter 1: Introduction 14
1.1 Ethnography Considered Harmful 14
1.2 Deconstructing Ethnography 19
1.3 Volume Structure and Content 23
References 27
Chapter 2: Building the Social into Systems Design 29
2.1 Systems Design and Social Science 29
2.2 The Turn to Ethnography 34
2.3 Why Should Systems Designers Care? 44
References 49
Chapter 3: Ethnography as Cultural Theory 52
3.1 New Calls, Old Ways 52
3.2 The Beginnings of Ethnography in Anthropology 55
3.3 Social Structure and Culture 59
3.4 Consequences 65
3.5 Social Science Is Not Privileged 68
References 69
Chapter 4: ‘New’ Ethnography and Ubiquitous Computing 71
4.1 Ethnography as Cultural Tourism 71
4.2 Old and New Visions for Ubiquitous Computing 78
4.3 Messiness and Infrastructure 84
References 93
Chapter 5: Interpretation, Reflexivity and Objectivity 95
5.1 Observation and Interpretation 95
5.2 Reflexivity in Ethnographic Observation 100
5.3 Objectivity and Realism 112
References 116
Chapter 6: The Missing What of Ethnographic Studies 119
6.1 Scenic Description 119
6.2 The Missing Interactional What 126
6.3 The Ongoing Relevance of the Missing What 132
References 140
Chapter 7: Ethnography, Ethnomethodology and Design 142
7.1 Ethnography and Ethnomethodology 142
7.2 Social Science and Common-Sense 150
7.3 Common-Sense in Its Own Right 154
7.4 Anchoring Systems Design in the Social 160
References 162
Chapter 8: Members’ Not Ethnographers’ Methods 165
8.1 Ethnomethodology and Design 165
8.2 Members’ Methods as a Design Resource 173
8.3 Members’ Methods and Ubiquitous Computing 179
8.4 Conclusion: Eyeless in Gaza 182
References 184