Narrative, Human Rights and the Ethnographic Reproduction of Conventional Knowledge

Authors

  • Ari Gandsman University of Ottawa

Keywords:

narrative, human rights, trauma, Latin America, fieldwork, normative

Abstract

For anthropologists working on the topic of human
rights, fieldwork often consists of collecting narratives docu
menting experiences of violence and loss. Drawing on research
with human organizations in Argentina, this article questions
this methodological focus that is often related to human rights
activism. While these narratives are often treated as organic
accounts, they are also products of the human rights movement
Analyses that fail to address this larger institutional context
may end up reproducing conventionally held knowledge. By
exploring the larger interconnections between narrative, hu
man rights and trauma, I conclude by questioning the prevalent
normative assumptions about narrative.

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Published

2013-04-30

How to Cite

Gandsman, A. (2013). Narrative, Human Rights and the Ethnographic Reproduction of Conventional Knowledge. Anthropologica, 55(1), 127–140. Retrieved from https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/859

Issue

Vol. 55 No. 1 (2013): Montréalology

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2013 Ari Grandsman

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