The anthropological literature contains many accounts of ethnographers whose diaries, journals, and field notes describe the Western academic’s experience of other cultures. Less is known, however, about the ways in which others react to and interpret the presence of an anthropologist or other stranger.
Imagine that you have a very curious guest from another society (an anthropologist) visiting your family or household.
- What events would you take him or her to?
- What sorts of questions would you probably ask him or her?
- What kinds of information would you not want to share, at least at first?
- Are there times you would want privacy?
- How would you lead your lives if your guest decided to stay for a year?
- How much stress would this create for your family?
- How do you think you would deal with it once you made a decision to let him or her stay?
Write at least 3 full pages concerning your ruminations about this hypothetical scenario. You might find it fun to reflect on this in a narrative form – a short story, a series of mock journal entries over the course of the “visitation
