Ethnography as politics: A critical review of British studies of racialized minorities

Abstract

Ethnographies of British racialized minorities have come under a great deal of scrutiny especially since the critique of ethnographic writing in anthropology surfaced in the mid-1980s. However, much of this criticism has focused on the issue of the construction of essentially bounded ethnic groups rather than on the immediate issues that faced these groups. Drawing on a particular activist academic trajectory that is mainly present in the US, this article1 reviews a number of studies of political mobilization and activism against racism and immigration controls in Britain and Europe. In so doing the role of ethnography in enabling or illuminating particular struggles is examined. The question of whether ethnography is a useful or relevant tool for the study of political change is also explored.