How to practice ethnography? Towards a pragmatic theory and description policy

Abstract

The article first establishes the foundation of a pragmatic anthropology –mainly interestedin the question “How do people do?” - that should guide the ethnographic research. Thenit describes with an ethnographic extract some of the different practices in the celebrationof San Juan/Inti Raymi in Otavalo in the Ecuadorian Andes, with a textual constructionmade from a pragmatic perspective. Finally, the article develops four points that supportthe pragmatic and detailed description: action in the situation, intellectualism overcoming, the situational relations of power and the co-experience of readers.

Keywords

• Ethnography
• Pragmatism
• Description
• Celebration
• Otavalo
• Ecuador