An exploration of the dialectic between theory and method in ethnography

The thesis poses three core questions: 1. What is ethnography? 2. What is the role of theory in ethnography? 3. What (and how) can ethnography contribute to the cumulative development of sociologieal theory? The thesis develops a reflexive awareness of the persuasiveness of the theory-method dialectic in ethnography. It explores the processes through which ethnography generates knowledge through social research and hence the basis upon which ethnography rests its claims about the social world. The thesis conducts a specific case study of one ethnographic 'theory' that was developed through a series of classic ethnographic research monographs. The context of the theory in relation to the historical development of ethnography is evaluated and an area for further theoretical development identified. This area was then tested in new, original fieldwork with the aim to contribute to further theoretical cumulation. The thesis offers two conclusions. The first considers what lessons have been learned through the approach to theorising used by the thesis and if it represents a model for future ethnographic research to follow. The final conclusion of the thesis calls for a greater awareness of the capacity of ethnography to contribute to theory cumulation. It suggests the role of theory has become more implicit than explicit. However, the ethnographic research conducted here has, albeit in one small case study, acknowledged the potential of theory for ethnography. This is vital if ethnography is to offer a sophisticated approach to social research and to contribute to sociological knowledge

Researching the rural

In this paper we make a plea for increasing the use of mixed method approaches in research projects in rural studies. The paper is an offshoot from a book project, aimed at producing a volume on rural research methods. Rural research is in many ways different from research in more densely populated areas, not only because of the topics (agriculture, nature, remoteness) and the distances, but also because of challenges relating to data collection, ethical issues, and diverse cultural representations of rural places

Managing Contemporary UK Universities – Manager-academics and New Managerialism

A multi-disciplinary project entitled ‘New Managerialism and the Management of UK Universities’ was conducted by a team of researchers based at Lancaster University between October 1998 and November 2000. The study was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (grant no R000237661). The project was designed to examine the extent to which ‘New Managerialism’, a set of reforms of the management of publicly-funded services popular with many western governments, was perceived to have permeated the management of UK universities. The study also explored the roles, practices, selection, learning and support of manager-academics. The first phase of the study comprised focus group discussions with learned societies from several disciplines where respondents considered what was currently happening to the management of universities. The second phase involved interviews with 135 manager-academics (from Head of Department to Vice Chancellor) and 29 senior administrators in 12 pre-1992 and post-1992 universities. The interviews explored the backgrounds, current management practices and perceptions of respondents. In phase 3, case studies of the cultures and management of four universities enabled comparison of the views of manager-academics with those of academics and support staff

Villages and Urbanization

In this article comments by politician Boris Johnson and economist Edward Glaeser exemplify narratives of global urbanization that portray rural villages as redundant and perpetuate outdated notions of urban–rural division. Simultaneously, traditional urban–rural dialectics are distorted by divisive new urban projects like gated communities styled as villages. This paper argues for development models that acknowledge the vital environmental and economic roles played by rural villages, and opposes artificially created “villages” in cities. In so doing, alternative readings of rurality and villages by Rem Koolhaas, Brazilian land reformers, Mahatma Gandhi, and critics of contemporary Indian literature and urbanism are considered

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Broadlands and the new rurality - an ethnography

In this ethnographic study of the rural idyll, Broadlands explores rurality and the pace of rural life. In sharp contrast to the urban analytical emphasis upon speed, it gives careful thought to stasis, as rural places offer everyday opportunities for very different social situations and behavioural interactions. Based on new and extensive RCUK-funded primary research, Sam Hillyard generates an original, rigorous and thoughtful understanding of everyday rural life in the 21st century. Taking the principles of dramaturgy and rural studies scholarship, Broadlands provides a toolkit to make sense of rural change. It uses ethnography to enhance interactionist dramaturgy via cross-references with new theoretical orientations that emphasise the temporal dynamics of space in a 'knowing capitalism'. Where early dramaturgy stressed formal organisations in shaping roles and identity, Broadlands expands these concepts to include informal and transient organisations and associations. Ultimately, the book advances a new model for grasping the complexity of the rural. For researchers and students ofrural and urban sociology, this is an engaging text that reframes our understanding of rurality

Goffman and Fieldwork: Mottke, the thief

The chapter discusses Erving Goffman’s approach to fieldwork. Borrowing this handbook’s approach to seeing Goffman in toto, the chapter situates Goffman’s fieldwork inside his sociological enterprise. It finds Goffman’s fieldwork is a metaphor for his sociology – to understand his approach to fieldwork is to capture his sociological ambitions. The case for this understanding is made in three stages: First is a summary of the primary research techniques he employed. Immediately, this shows an eclectic approach. Second, and building on this first observation, data was used strategically to inspire conceptual outputs. Here, fieldwork and theorising worked in synergy. This strong theory-method dialectic is distinctive in a career noted for its idiosyncrasies. A third and final section takes stock. The chapter finds Goffman did not practice what he preached (indeed, did not do much preaching) and, more problematically, covered his tracks. It considers these foibles as difficult but distractions from understanding Goffman’s motives. Contemporary and friend Saul Mendlovitz had nicknamed Goffman ‘Mottke, the thief’. The moniker captures Goffman’s rampant opportunism towards fieldwork data – anything was fair game. ‘Fieldwork’ was vital to his enterprise because it underpinned a richly productive theory-method dialectic. Hence, to distance Goffman’s fieldwork from his sociological enterprise is unwise

Rural vets: what has happened to them all?

What is the work of vet’s work and why are they in short supply. Vet professionals have long acknowledged there is a staffing shortfall. The Covid 19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem. Here I look at vets in a global context, as subject to consumer capitalism, and through an examination of the minutiae of their – dangerous and dirty – everyday practice. Of all the weird and not-so-wonderful consequences of the global pandemic, Barnard Castle tourism aside, a rise in animal ownership has been one. This pet boom has led to a crisis within the veterinary profession as they struggled to meet the surge in demand. The veterinary profession is well-established. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was granted its royal charter in 1844 (rcvs.org.uk) and some of the oldest universities in England, Scotland and Ireland provide training (vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk). The British vet is also much loved, as the popularity of (both) series All Creatures Great and Small (1978-1990, 2020) based on the novels by the late vet Alf Wight testify. So, why the dearth of vets? What has happened to them all

The Rising Salience of the Absent: An Interactionist Analysis

The paper uses examples from rural studies to demonstrate the relevance of symbolic interactionism for unlocking the complexity of contemporary society. It does so by making a case for a nonprescriptive theory-method dialectic. Case examples are drawn upon in support of the argumentation, including early interactionism and ethnographic work in the United Kingdom, and, in the second half of the paper, rural sociology and fieldwork. The main argument presented is that the traditional remit of interactionism should be extended to recognize how absence is increasingly influential. It concludes that interactionism is in tune with other new trajectories in the social sciences that take into consideration co-presence proximity both on and off-line