The Ethnographer as Witness, as Writer: The Poetics and Politics of Reciprocal Ethnography

Abstract

Elaine J. Lawless demonstrates a deep and abiding concern for the ethical questions posed by narratives: how they are told and collected, the implications of these narratives (and the telling of these) for their tellers' lives, the relationship between teller and listener/writer, and how these narratives are retold and reconstructed for a reader far removed from the original context. From her work on women's folk traditions, life stories, and self-representation within master narratives in religious contexts to her work with survivors of domestic violence to the aftermath of the intentional flooding and destruction of the African American community of Pinhook, Missouri, Lawless provides a framework for considering the poetics and politics of reciprocal ethnography. This paper discusses Lawless's multifaceted use and sophisticated understanding of narrative as not only text but also as ethical practice throughout her collected works.