Ethnography Challenges Study Assignment.

The perception of foreign cultures results in unexpected reactions due to ethnocentric assumptions and expectations. The article “Eating Christmas in Kalahari” by Richard Lee highlights his experiences caused by cultural misunderstanding. Laura Bohannan’s “Shakespeare in the Bush” asserts that literature is prone to numerous interpretations. Ethnography Challenges Study Assignment.Both articles highlight the challenges faced by ethnographers due to assumptions.

Richard Lee was a societal anthropologist in Kung who thought of bringing a Christmas ox to the community. Unfortunately, his beliefs conflicted with those of the natives due to his assumptions and expectations. Although Lee had lived with the Kung people and engaged in their activities, he still did not understand their practices. Therefore, when the Bushmen sarcastically referred to his ox as an old wreck and skinny, he did not recognize that that is how they refer to all presents because he expected them to praise his actions. Ethnography Challenges Study Assignment.“Big, yes, but old. And thin. Everybody knows there’s no meat on that old ox. What did you expect us to eat off it, the horns?” (Lee 1). Laura Bohannan narrates Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the Tiv community who has a different interpretation of the story. The elders found errors in the word usage and different aspects of the narrative like King Hamlet’s ghost, which signified bad omen (Bohannan 69). She did not understand that each society has a way of interpreting stories, got upset and threatened to stop the narration.

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Through the experience, Lee explains to the readers that the remarks over the ox were a customary irony used as a mechanism of preventing self-importance, especially among the huntsmen. Therefore, when interacting with people from different cultures, it is vital to understand the significance of their language before making assumptions.  Ethnography Challenges Study Assignment.Similarly, Bohannan explains that through the situation he learned that elders from different communities

Interactions with people from different cultures may result in misinterpretation of language and actions. During high school years, hugging was a common greeting practice and did not imply sexual affection. One day, I attempted to a hug the new female student from the Middle East and her reaction implied that my actions were inappropriate; she misunderstood my gesture because of cultural differences.

Works Cited

Lee, Richard Borshay. Eating Christmas in the Kalahari, 1-26.

Bohannan, Laura. Shakespeare in the Bush, 67-71. Ethnography Challenges Study Assignment.