On Goffman: Ethnography and the Ethics of Care
From The Embassy of Good Science
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On Goffman: Ethnography and the Ethics of Care
What is this about?
This blog deals with the ethics in ethnography, using the factual case of Goffman's research. Alice Goffman's ethnographic research with Black men in low-income neighbourhoods has been the focus of controversy since its publication. Michaela Benson[1] discusses this case.
- ↑ Benson, M. (2015, June 28). On Goffman: Ethnography and the Ethics of Care [Online]. The Sociological Review. http://thesociologicalreview.org/collections/doing-sociology/on-goffman/
Why is this important?
Safeguards are usually thought of an ethics issue that mainly concerns the research participants rather than the researchers themselves. In this case, this notion is challenged and both the researcher and the researched are susceptible to safeguarding issues. Also, this is a good case for discussions on research methods courses on ethnography or with ethnographic elements.