This section contains 4,806 words (approx. 17 pages at 300 words per page) |
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Myerhoff: An Anthropologist?
Summary: It is a critique of Myerhoff's book, "Number Our Days" as an ethnographic account of the culture of Old Aged Jewish people. The essay analyzes the techniques that the author used in her research to gauge how successfully Myerhoff was able to anthropologically understand the individuals she studied as parts of a constructed culture.
In studying the Jewish elderly members of the Center, Myerhoff attempted to understand the people there as an isolated society with a distinct culture. Through participant observation, as well as carefully recorded interviews and conversations, Myerhoff aimed to document this culture and understand it as a basis for unity among the Center members. Her immersion in this culture along with her anthropological perspective made her successful in representing the people of the Center. In her book, Number the Days, Myerhoff provides readers with an ethnographic analysis of the existence of a culture. After reading the book, I feel that I have a comprehensive understanding of the Center people. Through her descriptions, based on observation, and her recorded dialogues Myerhoff actually offers readers an illustration of this `society.' "She uses this material to show us the very processes through which her subjects weave meaning and identity out of...
This section contains 4,806 words (approx. 17 pages at 300 words per page) |
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