Learn what makes ethnographic interviews distinct and distinctly valuable, how to develop interview protocols that align with a research brief, and specific skills for engaging with research participants. Instructor: MICHAEL G. POWELL Overview This video has been edited to protect the privacy of participants in the live tutorial. Interviews are research bread and butter. But a method often referred to as “common” and “easy” actually comprises a vast terrain of approaches, techniques, theory and analytical frameworks—not to mention the interpersonal and sensory arts at the heart of interviewing. This tutorial provides a grounding in ethnographic interviewing, which generates unique value by prompting and actually participating in the articulation of our participants’ worldviews and discourse. It covers framing questions, asking questions well, actively listening, providing feedback and prompts for exploration. You will learn: How to think about research project design in ways that value ethnographic...

MICHAEL G. POWELL Shook Kelley This paper seeks to broaden the discipline of professional anthropology by considering the role of the anthropologist as a curator and a guide for the mediation of cultural symbols, artifacts and products in and among the organizations we work for or with. It employs two case studies of product curation activities, guided by strategic insights shaped in part by a professional cultural anthropologist. The paper builds on prior discussions and insights within the EPIC community to suggest potential new directions for professional anthropologists to pursue, alongside and/or outside of ethnographic research projects....

by MICHAEL G. POWELL, Shook Kelley Professional anthropologists frequently occupy unique roles, simultaneously inside and outside the organizations we work for or work with. Most of us are already adept at negotiating these roles, but don’t necessarily highlight this skill as something of great value, either to professional ethnography or to the broader intellectual life of anthropology. We should. Our role in the broader field of anthropology often remains marginal and our position—at once inside and outside, betwixt and between—is somewhat precarious and vulnerable (eg, Reddy 2012 touches on this, as do some of her guest bloggers). But it also affords opportunities. Professional anthropologists cross and complicate existing boundaries: collaborating with, debating, struggling with, writing about, negotiating, navigating and translating between different dynamic audiences. Embracing our hybridity is a powerful recognition that our difference is relevant and valuable. I offer here a story of my experience as a professional...