Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the Errant Anthropologist
Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the Errant Anthropologist Reflection
In his book Mad Dogs, English, and the Errant Anthropologist, Raybeck discusses his observations as he immerses himself in Wakaf Bharu, a city in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Throughout the ethnography, he discusses the various differences that he observes with the Kelantanese culture and the American culture, while using his prior knowledge to explain the observations he takes note of. By using these observations, Raybeck proceeds to answer different Naturalistic Questions which explain how Raybeck gathers the information and in what ways his studies impact the culture. Then, he elaborates on the economical aspect of the culture he studies, explaining how relationships and activities affect the economics of the culture. Finally, I will share my thoughts regarding the ethnography and what types of ethnocentrisms were shown throughout the ethnography and some which I felt. At first, the most important item for Raybeck was the location of the fieldwork as it had to fulfill the set requirements. Raybeck focused on the resources available: a close distance to the capital, a local building which kept all local demographic records, and a population which was not too large or too small. Using these guidelines, he chose Wakaf Bharu as the site where he would conduct his fieldwork, using the villagers as the subjects of his studies. Next, was gaining entrée, or entrance to the village (Omohundro 63), he was to find a modestly priced house in the village where he and his wife Karen could live in, which he was able to do with some help. The only thing that Raybeck had to do was fulfill the landowner’s obligation of doing guard duty which proved to be a good resource in collecting information and gaining contacts within the village. After settling in, the culture shock starts to kick in for Raybeck which varied from different sources, ranging from the lack of privacy within his home to the straight forward
In his book Mad Dogs, English, and the Errant Anthropologist, Raybeck discusses his observations as he immerses himself in Wakaf Bharu, a city in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Throughout the ethnography, he discusses the various differences that he observes with the Kelantanese culture and the American culture, while using his prior knowledge to explain the observations he takes note of. By using these observations, Raybeck proceeds to answer different Naturalistic Questions which explain how Raybeck gathers the information and in what ways his studies impact the culture. Then, he elaborates on the economical aspect of the culture he studies, explaining how relationships and activities affect the economics of the culture. Finally, I will share my thoughts regarding the ethnography and what types of ethnocentrisms were shown throughout the ethnography and some which I felt. At first, the most important item for Raybeck was the location of the fieldwork as it had to fulfill the set requirements. Raybeck focused on the resources available: a close distance to the capital, a local building which kept all local demographic records, and a population which was not too large or too small. Using these guidelines, he chose Wakaf Bharu as the site where he would conduct his fieldwork, using the villagers as the subjects of his studies. Next, was gaining entrée, or entrance to the village (Omohundro 63), he was to find a modestly priced house in the village where he and his wife Karen could live in, which he was able to do with some help. The only thing that Raybeck had to do was fulfill the landowner’s obligation of doing guard duty which proved to be a good resource in collecting information and gaining contacts within the village. After settling in, the culture shock starts to kick in for Raybeck which varied from different sources, ranging from the lack of privacy within his home to the straight forward