Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Tags: social sciences, anthropology, knowledge transfer, history
| Principal Investigator: | Fremgen, Barbara A. (2) |
| Licence Number: | 14077 |
| Organization: | Jesuit University Munich; Dept. of Philosophy |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2006
2006
|
| Issued: | Oct 06, 2006 |
Project Description: This doctoral study aims to explore Clifford Geertz’s approach towards understanding culture and humanity. Geertz’s methodology of “thick description” will be employed to arrive at an understanding of the issues of identity, culture and change among indigenous peoples in Canada. This year the study will focus on working with the Inuvialuit communities of Inuvik and Holman. The primary method of data collection will entail participant observation. Contrary to a “thin description”, which mainly collects data based on interviews, polls or surveys, “thick description” enables a deeper understanding of the complexity of another culture, in turn allowing an understanding of the process of interpreting observations to get at an overview of the details involved in the observations. No formal interviews are planned during the course of the research; rather, the researcher will engage in dialogue with people from the communities in informal, “everyday” conversations and at public events such as the Great Northern Arts Festival. As part of interacting with people in the communities, the researcher will also offer her knowledge as a social worker on a voluntary basis if there is interest in the communities. An abridged version of the doctoral dissertation and summary reports of research findings will be provided to the Inuvialuit Community Development Division, interested community members, and the Aurora Research Institute. N.B. Fieldwork will not be carried out in Paulatuk as proposed in the research licence application, until approval has been secured from the Paulatuk Community Corporation. The proponent will be notified if and when such approval is registered with the Aurora Research Institute, and will accordingly be allowed to proceed with fieldwork in Paulatuk. The study will be conducted from October 6 to December 1, 2006 within the municipal bounds of Inuvik and Holman.
