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BEING LUE: USES AND ABUSES OF ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION,
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1968
Year
EthnicityLinguistic EthnographyParticipant ObservationEducationEthnic Group RelationCognitive AnthropologyRaceBeing LueCultural IdentityCultural AnalysisAfrican American StudiesEthnic StudiesLanguage StudiesMotivated NatureSociolinguisticsEthnomethodologyCultureEthnographyAnthropologySocial AnthropologyCultural Anthropology
Abstract : The paper contends that much of what is called cultural anthropology consists of reporting the folk predicates of folk ethnic identification labels, of assuming that all predicates are properly ascribable to such labels, and of looking for human populations to which the labels can be applied. The contention is illustrated with data on the Lue of Chiengkham, Thailand. The paper suggests that participant observation is an inappropriate technique for ethnographers for discovering native categories that must be otained to analyze the underlying rules that natives use to ascribe events, things, and persons to these categories. Ethnic labeling appears to be motivated rather than self-explanatory, the motivated nature appearing to be associated with a retrospective rather than inductive use of traits. (Author)