Regardless of how strongly a fieldworker tries remain objective, there will naturally be some bias in their work. Positioning helps to account for and understand the subjective elements of ethnography. There are three forms of positions: fixed, subjective, and textual. Fixed positioning is a set of constants that the author cannot alter; it includes their sex, age, race, etc. Subjective positioning is the set of perspectives an author unconsciously develops a result of the experiences throughout their life. Textual positioning is the set of language and choices an author makes in writing their ethnography. Ultimately, understanding positioning helps to recognize the human element that impacts any ethnography.
The three elements of positioning are evident in “A Boy and His Wall” by Ralph Cintron. Cintron’s fixed position as a middle-class white male is seen through his discussion of the Latino community from an outsider’s perspective. An element of subjective positioning in Cintron’s ethnography can be seen in the quote, “I recognize the Valerio I knew in them [the letters]. That is to say, I recognize—between the lines, so to speak—the same self-conscious hesitation (cramping worry) through which he felt this world of unequal power” (105). Cintron’s decision to describe the choppy nature of Valerio’s writing in the empathetic terms of “self-conscious hesitation”, rather than the demeaning terms of “stupid” shows a level of compassion for Valerio’s difficult experience. Textual positioning is Cintron’s frequent use of the phrase “machine of modernity” to describe modern times. This phrase caries with it the opinion of a nostalgic; implying modern times are more mechanical and unnatural than the past.
Question: Of the three elements of positioning, is any one easier to identify in Cintron’s writing than another? Which element stands out the most? The least?
I thought Cintron's textual positioning was the easiest to distinguish. He was heavily embedded with Valerio's family, and because of that a lot of his data comes from the perspective of what he witnessed with their family. He kind of expands on what he sees with Valerio into a broader analysis of growing up in America. His fixed position was hard to decipher because he doesn't really come out and say anything about his background. I inferred that he grew up in a similar way as Valerio had, but because Cintron doesn't state that I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that Cintron's textual positioning was the easiest to identify. He talks about how he worked closely with the language therapist and positioned himself to work very closely with Valerio's family. He gave some examples of his own experiences so the subjective positioning was stood out second most. He didn't use much fixed positioning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you as well. Textual positioning was prevalent throughout the article, especially when first describing Valerio and his household to the reader. As far as fixed positioning goes, he does not go into very much background detail. This makes fixed factors harder to decipher.
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