Between science and life – Malinowski’s and Hastrup’s fieldwork experiences

The subject of this article is the personal experience of anthropologists during fieldwork carried out in another culture. It is presented through two cases: the first is Bronisław Malinowski’s journey to Mailu and the Trobriand Islands and the second Kirsten Hastrup’s experience in Iceland. My basi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kolankiewicz, Marta
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Fundação Fernando Pessoa/Publicações Fundação Fernando Pessoa 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.rcaap.pt/antropologicas/article/view/859
Description
Summary:The subject of this article is the personal experience of anthropologists during fieldwork carried out in another culture. It is presented through two cases: the first is Bronisław Malinowski’s journey to Mailu and the Trobriand Islands and the second Kirsten Hastrup’s experience in Iceland. My basic material is Malinowski’s Diary in the strict sense of the term (I used the whole text published in Polish in 2001). I have used the text to analyze his experience of interacting with people from another culture, as well as to show how Diary influenced contemporary anthropology. This I have done by comparing Malinowski’s and Hastrup’s experiences from their fieldwork. I have tried to present their ‘being there’ not only as a cultural phenomenon, changing in phase with discourses of the time, but also as the part of work which highlights crucial epistemological and ethical dilemmas of anthropology. O tema deste artigo é a experiência pessoal do antropólogo durante o trabalho de campo levado a cabo noutra cultura. É apresentada através de dois casos: o primeiro, a viajem de Bronislav Malinowski a Mailu e às ilhas Trobriand, e a segunda, a experiência de Kirsten Hastrup na Islândia. O meu material-base é o livro de Malinowski Diary in thestrict sense of the term (utilizei o texto integral publicado em polaco em 2001). Utilizei o texto para analisar a experiência de interacção com pessoas de outra cultura, bem como para ilustrar como o Diário influenciou a antropologia contemporânea. Fiz tal através da comparação entre as experiências de trabalho de campo de Malinowski e de Hastrup. Tentei apresentar o seu ‘estar lá’ não só como um fenómeno cultural, mudando de acordo com os discursos de cada época, mas também como uma parte do trabalho que ilumina dilemas epistemológicos e éticos cruciais na antropologia. The subject of this article is the personal experience of anthropologists during fieldwork carried out in another culture. It is presented through two cases: the first is Bronisław Malinowski’s journey to Mailu and ...