Ethnography or non-ethnography: Epistemology of a fundamental difference

Abstract

Anthropology and ethnography are inseparable in the history of the social sciences, with one claiming the other as its methodological characteristic, which is nonetheless very much in evidence in many other disciplines. This pairing directs anthropology towards the study of cultures, groups, interactions, situations and events. With such primacy given to social relations, the difference between sociology and anthropology is greatly blurred. What would anthropology be if it were no longer social and cultural? It could discard its ‘double’ and look for other methods, to change its subject matter, and to take an interest in the singularity of each being. This is the proposal of this article. If this happened, then anthropology would be radically different from sociology.