Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman

Hillyard, S.

Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman Thumbnail


Authors

S. Hillyard



Abstract

This article discusses how ethnography can contribute toward the development of sociological theory. It uses a case study of one theoretical idea refined through ethnographic fieldwork—Phil Strong’s (1979; 1988) work on Erving Goffman’s theory of ceremony.The article argues that Strong effectively applied Goffman’s ideas to different settings and successfully extended Goffman’s ideas on ceremony. In doing so, Strong demonstrated how ethnography can be more productive in developing theoretical ideas, but this productivity relied on his personal enthusiasm for theory and fieldwork. Strong’s theoretical empiricism provides an exemplar of how theory and conceptual refinement can grow as a result of doing ethnography the right way.

Citation

Hillyard, S. (2010). Ethnography's Capacity to Contribute to the Cumulation of Theory: A Case Study of Strong's Work on Goffman. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 39(4), 421-440. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241610366710

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Aug 1, 2010
Deposit Date Feb 2, 2012
Publicly Available Date Apr 16, 2014
Journal Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
Print ISSN 0891-2416
Electronic ISSN 1552-5414
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 4
Pages 421-440
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241610366710
Keywords Encounter, Ethnography, Goffman, Strong, Theory.

Files




You might also like



Downloadable Citations