ANTH 222 Reading Study Guide #8
Chapter 2, p. 44-53
1. What can limit participant observation? HINT: P. 44–46
a. Our own choice to avoid or limit full immersion
b. The way the people we are studying view us (as potentially disruptive to religious
practice or worldview)
c. Certain religious material being off-limits to observers (i.e., for converted or
initiated people only)
d. All of these
2. Sometimes we have to limit our efficacy in our methods (such as note-taking during
observation) due to the requirements of religious ceremonies. HINT: P. 46
a. True
b. False
3. What is TRUE about the nature of relationships in ethnography of religion? HINT: P. 47-
48
a. In religions that seek to convert people, navigating field relationships can
become uniquely challenging over time.
b. Ethnographers should never take on the role of religious initiate, convert, or
apprentice.
c. Relationships are relatively tangential (unimportant) to ethnographic work. The
main thing is to observe.
d. All of these statements are true.
4. Sometimes effectively conducting ethnographic research on religion demands that the