Institutional ethnography research in Global South settings: The role of texts

Abstract

Within institutional ethnography (IE), texts—reproducible written and graphic materials—are understood to play a central role in coordinating social relationships. This is the case because of their ubiquity and because texts allow proceedings in one place to influence actions in another. This article considers the role of texts in settings that are less text-saturated than the Western societies whose organization Dorothy Smith first sought to understand through IE. Drawing from insights of a study examining the social organization of maternity care in rural northern Uganda, I discuss the differences in the role of texts in Global South research including the role of illiteracy, the need to read for absences or silences, and the prominent role of international texts. Identifying texts and observing their role in sequences of action are nevertheless essential for institutional ethnographers working to understand social organization in the Global South. This article seeks to contribute to IE methodology in Global South research settings.