Papers > Miscellaneous > How does anthropological writing about Mediterranean societies differ from other kinds of writing on the Mediterranean
|
Featured Papers from Direct Essays
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a preview of a paper to view the full text you need to signup and login.
|
How does anthropological writing about Mediterranean societies differ from other kinds of writing on the Mediterranean
|
|
|
... ” (Örs 2002: 131)
“This late spring season usually brings many European vacationers, but to judge from the tranquil alleyways around his modest store, there are no great crowds this year.” (Cowell 2003)
They are all about Istanbul. One is from a history book, one from a travel guide, one is an ethnographic study and one a newspaper article.
Introduction:
In this essay I attempt to look at anthropological writing about the Mediterranean by comparing it to other kinds of writing of the same region to see how they differ. ... For example, a newspaper article often includes some historical background information just as a travel book talks about the culture of the location. In the same way, the ethnography includes various references to non-anthropological texts. What is it then that actually separates anthropological writing from other types of writing about the Mediterranean?
For the purposes of this essay I will exclude fictional writing, such as novels and fairytales, and concentrate only on fact-based writing so as to make the comparison more efficient and clear. Literary writers possess a very different set of skills and objectives for writing than anthropologists although modern anthropologists are beginning to realize the importance of descriptive writing to express how things actually feel and the emotions they evoke for purposes of setting the scene, so to speak. ... Although anthropologists might in a way also be ‘telling a story’ about their fieldwork from arrival till conclusion and findings, they are basing their events on real-life facts, somewhat limiting their creativity. ... The first one is a study about the notion of modernity in relation to coffeehouses in Istanbul and the other a study of pilgrimage in the Greek island of Tinos. In addition I am using other sources, such as a travel guide, a history book, a newspaper article and even a study from the Journal of Mineralogy.
Discussion:
Like most other social sciences, anthropology ties together many disciplines under it: archaeology, linguistics, religious studies and philosophy, just to name few. ... Therefore an ethnographic study might, even should, include passages of the history of the people, some geographical facts about their habitat and a mention of the dominating religion of the area. If we look at Ilay Örs study about the coffeehouses in Istanbul (2002), we see that he includes historical as well as religious data in his study. ... Had he not included historical background information about how the café was re-introduced to Istanbul from Europe with the political elite, we would find it very hard to grasp the contradiction of the notion of modernity attached to this institution.
|
|
|
To link to this page, copy the following code to your site:
|
|
Paper Information
|
|
|
Title: How does anthropological writing about Mediterranean societies differ from other kinds of writing on the Mediterranean
Words: 2119 Rating: None Pages: 8.5 submitted by: KaisuK
If you think this paper shouldn't be here then
|
|
|
|
|
Signup & Login
|
|
|
If you don't currently have a login then Signup here
|
|
|
|
|
Pre-Written Papers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Custom Papers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|