Fassin, Didier et al. At the heart of the state: the moral world of institutions. xi, 288 pp., bibliogr. London: Pluto Press, 2015. £24.99 (paper)

Michael Herzfeld
2017 Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute  
VERSO AND RECTO: BOOK REVIEWS[ ]t1[Book reviews ]ha1[Ethnography and biography ]bref [GHODSEE, KRISTEN. From notes to narrative: writing ethnographies that everyone can read.150 pp., illus., bibliogr. Chicago: Univ. Press, 2016. $16.00 (paper) ]rp[This book is a passionate plea for accessible ethnographic writing. Galvanized by an annoyance with 'unteachable books' (p. 1), Kristen Ghodsee, a prolific writer, blogger, and anthropologist, argues most convincingly for the importance of training
more » ... h doctoral students and senior anthropologists in writing. It is never too late to become a better writer, as Ghodsee says. As to teaching, she points out that 'I believe it pedagogically cruel to force students to read bad books, no matter how clever or important those books may be' (p. 1). She identifies an increasing interest in the ethnographic method in other disciplines (such as sociology and cultural studies) as well as outside academia in the business world -even (controversially) in US military intelligence. Nevertheless, 'the writing of ethnography remains influenced by the widespread academic belief that smart scholarship must be difficult to read' (p. 2). ]rp1[Extending standard formulas from books on writing (such as people, place, plot, and dialogue) by anthropologists, fiction writers, and creative writing instructors, From This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. notes to narrative is a clear step-by-step guide for writing readable ethnography. This is ethnography that conveys a field experience effectively while both educating and engaging the reader: in other words, making an impression on the reader. So ethnography should be lucid -but what about theory? The chapter 'Integrate your theory' acknowledges the role of theory in scholarly work. Theory has to be there, but it is indeed treated in different ways. As Ghodsee says, for some ethnographers, theory is the guiding principle, the reason for the choice of a certain fieldsite, while for others it is merely a backdrop informing their research. Wisely, she warns against 'a wall of theoretical analysis' (p. 59) at the end of a piece, even theoretical discussion in the form of long separate sections. Rather than devoting certain chapters to theory and other chapters to ethnographic description, Ghodsee's stance is to interweave these types of text, preferably including theory and ethnography at the same time, but she also suggests, matter-of-factly, that one start with one and simply 'slip in' (p. 60) the other. There is a crucial caveat here, which Ghodsee is well aware of: senior tenured scholars have more leeway to experiment and disregard conventional academic writing practice. Young unknown scholars have to prove their worth. This concerns, of course, writing dissertations, books, and journal articles as well as getting a first job, tenure, and eventually promotion to full professor. And as Ghodsee reminds us, there are certainly journals that require substantial literature reviews and a focus on theory. In a larger disciplinary perspective, there is, of course, a complementarity between grand theory and everyday ethnography. ]rp1[I could not agree more with Ghodsee's call to 'Choose a subject you love', the topic of one of the chapters. We live for ages with our research subjects. Again, senior scholars are obviously better off in this regard than young doctoral students, who may be This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. eager to please a supervisor, or just do not know about the variety and politics of possible subjects for a dissertation. What subject is just a fad? What subject is likely to get me a job? In line with her argument, Ghodsee makes the case that a writer will bring his or her excitement over a subject to the text -this is likely to make it an easy and enjoyable read. I also found the chapter 'Include images' of great interest. Images can enhance and clarify texts, and with digital images saturating social life, and the ubiquitousness of mobile cameras, there is a new expectation that they will be used in anthropological publications. Ghodsee mentions not only photographs, but also the usefulness of maps and diagrams. There is the issue of permission to publish images, which has to be taken seriously, and sometimes carries a cost, but now there is also the growth of images available through Creative Commons. Towards the end of the book, Ghodsee emphasizes the significance of revision and finding one's own writing ritual. These are often overlooked aspects of successful writing. ]rp1[Together with my edited volume The anthropologist as writer: genres and contexts in the twenty-first century (2016), this excellent book is already on the reading list of my Writing Anthropology Workshop for master's students. It will be widely used also in courses on methods, in anthropology and related disciplines, where the careful crafting of engaging ethnography is key. ]rau[HELENA WULFF Stockholm University
doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12641 fatcat:4oyr2oksmrd47pkpixc4gsojfy