Non-ethnography and its discontents: Singular being,context,and the limits of extraction

Abstract

This article explores Albert Piette's idea of non-ethnography, which suggests that anthropology should shift its focus from relying on ethnography and assumptions of social relationality to concentrating on human existence as a unique entity – a volume of being. By situating this idea within sociological debates on individuality, structure, and analytical scale, the article investigates the epistemological implications of Piette's concept of ‘extraction’ in response to critiques about reductionism and decontextualization. Engaging with phenomenology and the tradition of interpretive sociology, this article argues that attempts to completely separate individuals from social relations encounter significant epistemological challenges, as human existence inevitably occurs within structured social contexts. Analysing works focused on individual lives shows that relationality does not necessarily obscure singularity; instead, it can be a condition that makes it analytically visible. Rather than being viewed as a strict disciplinary alternative, non-ethnography is proposed as a complementary analytical approach that temporarily sets aside structural explanations to enhance individual descriptions before reflexively reintegrating them into relational analysis. In this way, the article positions non-ethnography as a theoretical provocation, encouraging the social sciences to reconsider their foundational assumptions regarding the relationship between individuals and social structures.