Rumor Has It: Strategies for Ethnographic Analysis in Authoritarian Regimes

• In Event: 1462 - Ethnography/Ethnographic Studies

Abstract

Accurate information can be difficult to access in authoritarian regimes. As more and more countries fall under the sway of illiberal leaders, ethnographers may find themselves unable to easily corroborate knowledge that comes from native informants. This article proffers a few strategies for researchers to utilize when analyzing unverifiable ethnographic data. The strategies discussed herein are based upon sociological and psychological studies of rumor, as well as a sample of ethnographic research conducted under conditions of uncertainty in both the author’s own work and research described in secondary sources.

Author

• Kate Pride Brown, Georgia Institute of Technology