Ethnographic Imagination as an Interpretative Approach to the World of Infants and Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Reflections on children’s agency have become popular in anthropological and sociological studies of childhood. Scholars tended to treat children as independent and active social members, rather than individuals still undergoing maturity. To guarantee their right to information and participation, researchers have constantly refined their methods in hopes of involving children in research projects as much as possible and empowering their voices. Yet, because of our technological and cognitive restraints, these innovative efforts have not helped us comprehend the thoughts and experiences of infants and children with developmental disabilities. This article proposes ethnographic imagination as an alternative approach. Based on 11-month fieldwork in a Chinese orphanage, I suggest that we could utilize the clues drawn from our participatory research and caregivers’ experiences to untangle children’s ‘messy’ behaviors in an ethnographically imaginative way. Rooted in specific contexts and reliant on the collective experience of stakeholders, while also connecting broader perceptions of everyday life and the sociocultural insights of participatory observation, this interpretative approach may provide observers with a justifiable explanation to the world of nonverbal and minimally verbal children.