CollectorsofDailylife: The literary journalist, the anthropologist, and their fieldwork

Abstract

– Literary journalists and anthropologists conduct their fieldwork with similar tools and goals. Both use listening and observation to establish contact with the Other - the group being studied - and therefore identify, understand and interpret daily interactions and scenes. In spite of the similarities, their conduct in the field suffers interference due to the certain particularities of each one of them: production conditions, professional relations, social roles, methodological principles, professional ethics and the commitment to the final product – scientific research or literary reporting. In this article, we put forth a theoretical reflection about the similarities and contrasts between the fieldwork of literary journalists and anthropologists. At the same time, we reflect on what characterizes each of these professional researchers and their respective disciplines. For this purpose, we explore authors such as Harrington (2003), Martinez (2008; 2017), Lago (2010), Brandão (2007), Travancas (2002; 2014) and Gillespie (2012).