Finding Words: Risk and Requirements in Theological Ethnographic Writing
In: Ecclesial PracticesSearch for other papers by Jackson Wolford in
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Abstract
Scholars have written extensively on theological ethnographic research. Comparatively little has been written about theological ethnographic representations. Despite influential efforts since 2011 to move methods of theological ethnographic research toward an incarnate mode, the genres of theological ethnographic representation have not similarly advanced. This article argues: 1) That limiting theological ethnographic representations to the genre of the social-scientific case study or treatise risks replicating the analytical violence ethnography was designed to fight against; 2) That if we write in such a way that an abstract such as this one conveys the fullness of our written representation, we have failed to fulfill the obligations of the ethnographic task. Ethnography ought to be non-abstractable; this abstract should fall short. It then proposes two necessary qualities for theological ethnographic writing: 1) Writing in ways that needs to be read; 2) Writing in ways that can be read. I then proceed to get emotional.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 184 | 184 | 5 |
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| PDF Views & Downloads | 81 | 81 | 2 |
Finding Words: Risk and Requirements in Theological Ethnographic Writing
In: Ecclesial PracticesSearch for other papers by Jackson Wolford in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Scholars have written extensively on theological ethnographic research. Comparatively little has been written about theological ethnographic representations. Despite influential efforts since 2011 to move methods of theological ethnographic research toward an incarnate mode, the genres of theological ethnographic representation have not similarly advanced. This article argues: 1) That limiting theological ethnographic representations to the genre of the social-scientific case study or treatise risks replicating the analytical violence ethnography was designed to fight against; 2) That if we write in such a way that an abstract such as this one conveys the fullness of our written representation, we have failed to fulfill the obligations of the ethnographic task. Ethnography ought to be non-abstractable; this abstract should fall short. It then proposes two necessary qualities for theological ethnographic writing: 1) Writing in ways that needs to be read; 2) Writing in ways that can be read. I then proceed to get emotional.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 184 | 184 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 29 | 29 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 81 | 81 | 2 |
