Ethnography and the Phenomenon of Culture - Essay Example

Reviewing the following ethnographies and explain their use of the methodology Reviewing the following ethnographies and explain their use of the methodology Introduction Ethnography is a qualitative research project which its objective is to learn and comprehend the phenomenon of culture. Culture reflects the system of meaning and knowledge that guide the life of a cultural group. This term is a product of the social-cultural anthropology field, but now it is a popular method in sociology. In carrying out, this research data collecting is first hand through administering questionnaires, conducting interviews and observation (Miller, 1987). This research encourages us to be less rigid and open to the possibilities of on new patterns of thinking of viewing what looks familiar in a deep-sense. On the other hand, methodology is the orderly study of methods. These are the methods which have been, are or can be applied within a given discipline. The following is an evaluation on the on methodology of the Wall Street as written in Liquidated: Ethnography of Wall Street by Karen Ho (Fine, 1993). In “Liquidated”, Karen Ho an anthropologist busts the aura of the abstract and all powerful Street Wall market to show how financial markets, and especially the busts and booms are constructed. By carrying out an in depth research into the day to day experiences, ideologies and culture of the Wall Street investment bankers, she explains how financial dominance of an unstable market is to be justified, understood and produced. The market is a product of the process of restructuring of the larger economy and corporations. Having worked in an investment bank as an investment consultant, she observes that the approaches of bankers to financial markets are inseparable from the strategies and structure of their places of work. These work places are characteristic of seasoned managing directors, stressed first year associates, undergraduates looking for employment and alienated analysts (Miller, 1987). Bankers are recruits of elite universities these are Harvard and Princeton. These bankers make an entry and assimilation absorbs them into a high risk and high reward world. They earn a reasonable pay, and they understand that their jobs are not secure and that they can be let go to any instance. The culture of their work place and the privilege network builds a perception that liquidity of employee’s results to smart, efficient businesses and job insecurity builds character. Based on compensation practice, which a connect to the profligate of deal making and the culture of liquidity, investment bankers of the Wall Street reshape an image of their own American corporate, their mission being the creation shareholder value (Fine, 1993). Wall Street’s rise to dominance The investment banks of the Wall Street have risen to dominance through the application of their smartness, use of their share holder value ideology and their own experiences. They have projected a local model of liquidity of their employees and the financial instability of the financial market and the corporate America creating a globalized economic crisis (Miller, 1987). The recruitment process It is evident from the book that one main method that the Street uses to recruit its employees is by tapping them from elite the universities. The elite universities referred here are Harvard University, Princeton and Wharton School in the University of Pennsylvania. The recruitment process starts on the exact first day of an academic year, and it saturate all aspects of life in campus. This process is further reinforcement from the heavy presence of Wall of Street in the campus: recruiters visiting the campus nearly week and sometimes even in weekends (Miller, 1987). The Street goes to these institutions of higher learning to seek the smartest people in the world. The banks do this to increase their credibility. For example, an average investor or a corporation is more likely to invest with the smartest people the world has to offer in the belief that they known what they are doing; thus their money will be safe in their hands (Van, 1998). Arguably, are smart people only found in Princeton and Harvard? The answer to this question simply. No. Why is it that the Street does not go to Stanford, Yale or MIT? This is because of its cultural projections; confidence, clothes, aggressiveness embedded in solid manners, body image etc. Thus to many this process of enchantment with the beauty of investment banking is viewed like initiation into a cult. Another surprising issue is that these investment banks go for students regardless of their academic majors. The banks have a believe that their training programs, will equip engineering and science students well as their counter parts in human and social science with the rigors of investment banking (Miller, 1987). Use of a defined culture The culture of the Wall Street is that it pampers and promises these new recruits, that it will sustain the same social settings and friendships which they had while in the elite institutions. Do not fear facing the mediocre world, entering the humdrum because the firm will help bring Harvard or Princeton. It is not until the recruits, clear schooling that they face the adverse the realities of the Wall Street. These are constant job insecurities and pressure to perform for the immediate profits. In these work places, it is a belief that job insecurities create character (Miller, 1987). The perception of liquidity The majority of the general public believes the market to be an abstract force, rather like a Christian god who at his whim rewards and punishes us, but who is merciful in the end. By examining this so called natural force and exposing the practices of investment bankers, Ho provides reliable evidence that financial markets are creations and under control of the fallible human beings. In the book, Karen points out that the American high finance has prioritized liquidity to the point that everything tangible is being converted into liquid assets. That is it is being diced, homogenized and sliced into negotiable commodities (Miller, 1987). In so doing, they turn mortgages into esoteric paper and defaults credit swaps. Hence the resulting products can be bought and sold. Furthermore, the products can be transacted more than once. In this manner, they are able to sell their products such as mortgage which have securities backing, interest rate swaps and credit defaults which are incomprehensible investment instruments without us even noticing what we were getting ourselves into (Miller, 1987). The down zing and restructuring method When faced with a melt down or hard economic times, Wall Street banks downsize immediately. They do this relentlessly and constantly. However, due to their dependence on the elite, it means that even during hard times, they unabashedly lay off the workers in order to maintain the bonus pool of the capital to pay their executives and shareholder value. As a result, their share price soars. Nonetheless, when the market improves these banks relieve and actively recruit new workers from the elite campuses. Thus, they maintain an image of doing well in times of hard economic crisis (Erickson, 1997). During this period of downsizing, the corporate restructures the brokered it had and emerges as the bicorn of hope. Thus, attracting investors and getting credit for being the world of smartness. In explaining this restructuring, Ho borrows a large chuck of her from the works of Pierre Bourdieu an anthropologist and sociologist who had carried out fieldwork in classical anthropology. Bourdieu developed an idea on how a society comes up with a cognitive way to order its world. The order has a basis on the society’s physical experiences which its members are dimly aware of. In Wall Street, the habitus gets its shape from the educational experiences and employment experiences of the investment bankers’. These modern financiers earn their living by cutting deals or trading things. From the above ways, it is clear that smartness alone is not the key to global domination and that the financial system as it stands does not serve the interest but only those of the selected few (Miller, 1987). This work out stands the power of originality of the nature of migration and the various condition of the immigrant society a brilliant condition is usually described. Say ad brings the aspect of light for the condition typically camouflaged and is neutralized by the language it is self. Yet not so different, in the appearance which lead as to believe that we have understood without any reference, and by high lighting the relationship between the phenomena (Erickson, 1997). The suffering migrant describes a powerful account in immigration and the condition of migrant in the society. The book represents a twenty year research about emigration and migration. Through a profound and sensitive analysis, he revels the reality of the displaced immigrants, and the harrowing condition that characterize it. Among the contradiction is the collective dishonesty through which they perpetuate, the suffering of the emigration had to encourage more of their compatriots and join them (Erickson, 1997). The sufferings of the migrants represent a strong argument representing the immigrant’s agency, I n the face of structural, inherit conditions that all always against them, and whose consequences they must suffer. People refer immigration as global phenomena he makes no bones on the global change. Most agree the current migratory flow is related to the free market of capitalism which needs time of flexibility and moving its work place all around the world. Probably, few deny earlier colonial relationship was implicated especially where the migrants moved to their former countries (Erickson, 1997). He also considers more serious action that migrants are an element of colonial power that never ended. In his case study, about the Algerian migration heading to France in the 20th century, during this time many of the migrants passed from being citizens of the colony to and being citizens of an independent Algeria and back to France. With the complication that the majority is the Berber peasants, the colonial relationship was seen in the subornation in the economic social life (Spradley, 1979). He argues, however, much further this case; he demonstrates how discourses the migration focus in the situation of the immigrants, the receiving countries view it as their own social problem. The move of the dominant member of migration maintains control over the knowledge and solution to the problem, according to which the migrants are always lacking the necessary culture and skills (Erickson, 1997). He insists in the studies which begin at an earlier stage, the demand has begun to meet by the trend towards the study of transnational migrations. He points to a more intransigent problem, in which countries begin to participate in the negative reconstruction of their citizen abroad; they treated them as martyrs to the state’s economic benefit considering them as traitors. The original culture becomes contaminated by another they do manage to return. They are pathologies as being difficult reinsert into the society. He shows individual migrants produce the colonialist they view themselves as misfit, and only useful in the accountant views of migration which selectively calculates benefits and costs (Hymens, 1974). Say ad categories of migration is imagined to be separate, the settlers value the families and their domestic more than the labor migrants. As we as, labors migration ideas, they are transitory and without any political dimension. He suggests rather all migrants are united by a distance from their original home land. They are exempted from political participation in the reception and original countries, thus being deprived all their rights (Hymens, 1974). Some may seem familiar to migration scholars the representation renders new. He also gives a significant space to migrant’s words. Although, one can also imagine the anger over the many injustices he recognizes in their cultural logic (Erickson, 1997). He makes a contribution in the study of migration; he considers it one of the most cultural givens. Slurring migrants such as acute and hybrids, social products and society manifests of those who blur the borders of their nation, therefore, the symbolic pertinence and the value of the criteria, it is used to establish the difference between states and foreigners. Nothing less than delegitimizing of the states is necessary and denaturalizing of what is considered as real nation being (Hymens, 1974). The book is about men in Algeria, which was initially about all single males who are pictured as alienated cycle of marriage and courtship. He reproduces a man’s speculation on potential woman migrant fate. Whilst, she might gain something by coming, she would pay a high price for it and imprisoned in one room. In this, it gives current protagonist of women in the migration, and their absence is noticed. His case study imposes a restriction, given the wealth of ideas and go far beyond any case, and this restriction can be forgiven (Spradley, 1979). Reference Hymens, D. 1974. Foundations in sociolinguistics & an ethnographic approach Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Kottak, C. 2005. A Concise Introduction to General Anthropology .New York. McGraw Hill, Marcus, G. 1986. Anthropology as Cultural Critique. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Miller, D. 1987. Material Culture and Mass Consumption, London: Sage. Spradley, J. 1979. The Ethnographic Interview. New York. McGraw hill. Van, M. 1988. Tales of the Field and On Writing Ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Westbrook, A.2008. Navigators of the Contemporary and Why Ethnography Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Douglas, M.1996. The World of Goods: Toward and Anthropology of Consumption. , London: Rout ledge. Erickson, C. 1997. Doing Team Ethnography, Warnings and Advice. Beverly Hills: Sage. Fine, G. 1993. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. London: MacMillan Read More