ABSTRACT

The scout's early praise constitutes a particular way of seeing, that is, of marking social distinction by valuing it for the marketplace. Many ethnographers engaged in long-term immersion toggle between their scholarly and field identities. They invariably take on, for a time, characteristics of the field. This is a principal goal of the method, as Goffman (1989) noted. Part of the ethnographer's job is to get as close as possible to the lived realities of a set of people, and in this pursuit, the ethnographer's body can be a key methodological tool. Ethnography as a physical endeavor requires immersion into the site, as much as possible, while focusing analytic attention on and reflexive engagement with the sociologist's corporeality. The method allows sociologists a personal, indeed physical, connection, through day-to-day activities, to the world of their subjects, including their skills, categories of differentiation, capacities for judgment and valuation, their disciplining routines and moral rules, and their fears and desires.