L'interprétation des terrains et le recours à des propositions théoriques

Abstract

In this paper, we assert that we should not divide ethnography between empirical fieldwork and theoretical interpretation that would be a sepa-rate moment. The idea is that any ethnographic enterprise, whether descriptive or explicative, is based on general or theoretical propositions that are not deduced from the direct fieldwork it aims to interpret. These general propositions are necessary to the interpretation of the fieldwork. The paper proposes a typology of these general propositions and an assessment of their localisation in the explanatory reasoning, which is mainly deductive. © P.U.F.