tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post6360179734500751689..comments2024-03-23T04:01:39.348-04:00Comments on Understanding Society: Opaque BurmaDan Littlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-74390766756020245892009-07-13T13:24:11.384-04:002009-07-13T13:24:11.384-04:00My friend has published some stuff through the usu...<a href="http://www.irasec.com/index.php?option=com_irasec&task=team_detail&teamid=343" rel="nofollow">My friend</a> has published some stuff through the usual academic channels. Mostly in French obviously - although he regrets it, in France the social sciences can be quite insular.<br /><br />But he certainly knows quite a bit about the daily life in Myanmar, and tries to live there as much as he can. Sometimes purely doing fieldwork, sometimes working for NGOs.<br /><br />One problem is the teaching constraints on scholars in many countries - he's currently trying to avoid it.<br /><br />Another obvious problem in describing such places is that of the journalist wanting to keep access, which puts constraints on what is put on paper.<br /><br />If you are very interested, try to contact him...Antonin & Damiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06209431779816050551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-82105255337359846132009-07-13T08:07:07.309-04:002009-07-13T08:07:07.309-04:00Thanks, Linca and Jon,
Thanks for both comments...Thanks, Linca and Jon, <br /><br />Thanks for both comments. Any suggestions about how to find some of the reports of these kinds of experiences in Burma? Jon, did you publish any of your observations and reflections while you lived in Burma? <br /><br />June Nash has a postscript in <i>Practicing Ethnography in a Globalizing World</i> on a visit she was able to make in 1998. Here's a link on Google Books. <br /><br />http://bit.ly/TriuyDan Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-38429339627905018092009-07-13T07:54:33.767-04:002009-07-13T07:54:33.767-04:00If you live there and listen to people, it is trul...If you live there and listen to people, it is truly amazing how much you can learn about the way Burma works and about life in Burma. <br /><br />The trouble is that most academics who profess to be experts in the place aren't interested in objectively describing what is going on there. <br /><br />They obsess on a few issues to the exclusion of everything else. <br /><br />I lived there for two years, spoke the language everyday and did not hang out in the foreigner society like the American club or the French group, etc. Some scholars of Burma do that, but most seek the confront and security of fellow academics. <br /><br />This social network resists penetration from outside elements with useful different perspectives and real world experience, a recipe for teh disaster you describe.Jon Fernquesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14974424595128404537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-53304869028539890442009-07-11T22:53:29.027-04:002009-07-11T22:53:29.027-04:00There are people doing ethnography in Myanmar - a ...There are people doing ethnography in Myanmar - a friend of mine finished his PhD thesis over there last year.Antonin & Damiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06209431779816050551noreply@blogger.com