| Titre | L'ethnologue et sa discipline | |
|---|---|---|
| Auteur | Gérard Althabe | |
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Revue | L'Homme et la société |
| Numéro | no 95-96, 1er et 2e trimestre 1990 Mission et démission des sciences sociales | |
| Page | 25-41 | |
| Résumé anglais |
Gérard Althabe, The Ethnologist and His/Her Discipline
The discipline of ethnology contributes to knowledge within the context of an industrialized and urbanized society, but there exists a significant difference between the practice of ethnology in France and elsewhere. In order to maintain their legitimacy, the majority of ethnologists reproduce an epistemology elaborated elsewhere and construct their subjects as something alien, thus freeing themselves of any form of identification. However, in a society which increasingly uses exclusion as an operating principle, such an approach risks reinforcing the singularity of the subjects, thus justifying their exclusion. It is in attempting to provide information resources for the production of collective identities that ethnology can make a positive contribution. The field or urban studies is particularly central in this regard. Within the social sciences, ethnologists claim to be specialists in regard to symbolic forms. In doing this they assure the unity of their discipline regardless of the particular field chosen. It is necessary to break with any trend towards the reification of the symbolic, and to focus upon the production of symbolism within the context of social relations. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/homso_0018-4306_1990_num_95_1_2456 |
