Taking distinction practices seriously: Methodological reflections on ethnographic distance in fieldwork with marginalized people

• Published in: American anthropologist Vol. 127; no. 2; pp. 308 - 318
• Main Authors: Zhang, Chaoxiong, Zhan, Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2025
• Subjects: Anthropologists; Avoidance behavior; China; Cultural groups; distinction practices; Drug abuse; Epistemology; Ethnographers; Ethnographic research; Ethnography; fieldwork; Marginality; marginalization; Migrant workers; Migrants; Minority groups; Power; Research subjects

Anthropologists often consider the distinction from our interlocutors a barrier, assuming that overcoming the distance allows us to understand our interlocutors. Other times, ethnographers intentionally maintain ethnographic distance to avoid “doing harm” to our interlocutors. In either case, ethnog...