Waarheid en interpretatie in etnografie (deel 2): Discrepanties bij marginale groepen en geüniformeerde beroepen

Abstract

Truth and interpretation in ethnography (part 2): Discrepancies with marginalized groups and uniformed professions This essay is the second part of my contribution to an ongoing discussion in KWALON on evidence and truth in ethnography. I stress that ethnography is inferential and involves interpretation work, and in this part specifically I shift the attention from the problems of truth about the field to those in it. Using ethnographic material from Alice Goffman and insights from studies of the uniformed services, I focus on the discrepancies that result from secrecy and truth work. Relative, coherent and holistic truths thus emerge in the field. These pose special challenges for writing ethnography; deploying experience requires rhetorical strategies. The emergent character of truth also entails scrutinizing the ‘facts of fieldwork’ and steering clear of the subjectivist and objectivist fallacies of empiricist functionalism. I end the essay with three methodological tips, inviting further research into how secrecy and truth work relate to domination and resistance.