Exploring Everyday Life

Billy Ehn is professor emeritus of ethnology at Umeå University in Sweden. He is co-author, with Orvar Löfgren, of The Secret World of Doing Nothing.Orvar Löfgren is professor emeritus of ethnology at Lund University in Sweden. His publications include On Holiday: A History of Vacationing. Richard Wilk is Provost’s Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University. His publications include Fast Food/Slow Food and Economies and Cultures (second edition, with Lisa Cliggett.) Richard Wilk and Orvar Löfgren, together with Jessica Chelakis, are co-editors of The Anthropology of Everyday Life, a Rowman & Littlefield series.

Books that teach the art of analyzing a culture and are easy to read are rare. This book fills that gap by making it an everyday experience. For example, in the third chapter, ‘Making the Familiar Strange,’ the goal is to discover what is new and strange within homes of differing cultures. These small details help ethnographers understand what is going on in the lives of the people that they are studying. In another chapter, ‘Sharing a Meal,’ the authors point out how much can be learned by observing a mealtime with a family. The simple act of eating a meal together varies given the combination of cultural expectations and family histories; this is a real learning experience when viewed from an ethnographic perspective. The study of cultural ideals and mores is fraught with difficulties; the authors have broken this into basics that make ethnography doable and fun. Their examples help learners craft their studies step-by-step, as well as give advice on analysis that is both helpful and insightful. A well-researched and highly readable book for both social science and anthropological interests. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most academic levels/libraries.

• 1—Hidden WorldsFinding the toolsFrom idea to finished productThe need for a cultural perspectiveAnalytical strategiesStructure of the book2—The importance of small thingsThe first step: getting goingThe second step: searching for literatureThe third step: collecting materialThe fourth step: the analysisThe fifth step: writing3—Making the familiar strangeMaking a first attemptLooking for entrancesTo avoid the predictableChoosing methodological entrancesNew questions and surprising answersReturn to the pastA life-history perspectiveThe strange homeThe home as an art installationThe importance of details and activitiesThe advantages of limitation4—Sharing a mealTable mannersThe hidden world of the dinner tableForming a family mealPower at the tableClass and family historyDoing mealtime ethnographyMeals as models5—Do you remember Facebook?Exploring media in everyday lifeBeginning at the endAnalog and digital livingMedia taking placeVirtual intimacyAre you there?Follow the Objects6—Catching a moodLocating the settingAnalytical approachesTouring the sensesThe station as a sensoriumChanging moodsDescribing atmospheresIntimate moodsChanging tracksSensing the World7—Crafting wood and wordsEthnographic writingMaking things with wordsAutoethnographic writingDescribing non-verbal experienceDo it by feelWriting DIY: three versionsManualStoryAnalysisWorking knowledgeThe importance of failuresWorking and Writing8—Demystifying fieldworkThe classic styleMaking changes to the classic moldThe jungle idealWhere is the field now?Organizing informationPast, present, future9—Taking cultural analysis out into the worldThe surprise effectOpen fieldworkWhat’s this thing about culture?A double cultural analysisLearning to communicateTime discipline and teamworkThree ways of surprising a clientSo what?The critical edgeReferences