Summary Of Ethnographic Empathy And The Social Context Of Rights

Ashley Ahlene
ACO1:Intro to Anthropology
Instructor: Sunga Lee

Write an analysis of “Ethnographic Empathy and the Social Context of Rights” by Caroline Archambault. American Anthropologist, 113:4 (2011): 632-643.
What is the author's thesis?
• In your own words, paraphrase the thesis.
• Fully explain the thesis.
What are the author's supporting points?
• In your own words, state 2 supporting points.
• Describe the supporting points.
• Fully explain how the supporting points support the thesis.

Week 6 - Assignment: Article Analysis Paper 3

In the article, “Ethnographic Empathy and the Social Context of Rights,” author and American Anthropologist, Caroline Archambault, compares and contrasts what she calls, “conventional/(trans)national” views
In Archambault’s words, the narrative of Maasai women is structured by binaries that set ideas of violators, tradition, patriarchy and collective culture against victims, modernity, female empowerment and individual rights. According to Archambault, the damaging effect of this narrative is that it misrepresents the underlying factors that motivate the Maasai to practice early marriage and averts the attention away from policy interventions that could more effectively address the issues that Maasai face in a contemporary context. Archambault ‘s assessment of narrative supports her ethnographic and contextual understanding of early marriage and highlights her understanding of the underlying factors that drive the Maasai towards this matrimonial
Archambault’s ethnographic exploration of Esther’s particular story provides a contextual understanding of the practice of early marriage as a recent phenomenon brought about by contemporary cultural changes that have inflated poverty and marginalization. Archambault explains, this is why, some parents are continuing to turn to early marriage as a means of securing not only their children’s future, but also their own. Additionally, the practice of early marriage expands family networks, thus facilitating access to resources that are increasingly harder to obtain under contemporary practice of land-privatization. Trends in land-privatization reforms are another example of underlying factors that drive a need for early marriage in modern Maasai society. Archambault distills her argument down to the ability to make a livelihood and advocates that early marriage would be more appropriately and more effectively addressed with policies aimed to improve the viability of pastoralism. Archambault also advocates for access to education but explains that education also needs to become a reliable path to a livelihood—especially for girls.
According to Archambault’s article, there are significant limitations to the conventional views of Esther’s story, and the lack of understanding