Translated Woman: Crossing
Borders
• What do borders represent in this ethnography?
• What could be one purpose of modern
ethnographies such as this?
• What do we learn from the juxtaposition of two
different women in this book?
We learn about
• Social relationships (in the family, the
community, etc)
• Cultural particularities (ways of being in the
world)
• A common world of possibilities( A critique
of the West and anthropology)
How does this book evoke a
world of possibilities for
anthropology?
Anthropology as a cultural
Critique (Marcus and Fischer
1986)
• Self-criticism (ethnocentrism, colonialism
and racism)
• Psychic of human kind (cultural relativistic)
Paris 1909: A while ago...Gabriel Rene Moreno
discovered that the native
and meztizo brains are cellularly incapable, and
that they weight from
five to seven or even ten ounces less than the
brain of the white man.
Now he proclaims that mestizos inherit the worst
characteristics of their
forbears and this is why the Bolivian people do
not want to wash or learn,
Can’t read, only drink, are two-faced, egotistic,
lazy, and altogether deplorable. (Eduardo
Galeano 1988).
Romanticism (them and us)
denial of coevalness,
Contemporary ethnographies:
• More sophisticated (juxtaposition of
cultures)
• Historical, aware of the political economy
of the world
How is Behar’s Ethnography
critical of the West?
The juxtaposition of opposites is
essential to deepening
understanding of a culture.
How are both stories different?
In what way does she compare to
Esperanza?
Discussion Questions
• In what ways does Behar blur the
boundaries between self and other?
• Think about three ways in which form and
content intersects in Behar’s ethnography?