I particularly thought it was interesting how Thomas acknowledges an anthropologist’s role in studying culture, but also clarifies that culture is a difficult concept to understand in the complex “institution of the academy and the politics of knowledge production” (4). I think this points back to the power that the anthropologist holds in relaying to other audiences outside of a realm they are studying what this “culture” is like. Their “objective” perspectives have the means to dictate the relatively unknown lived experience of an entire demographic of people. This reminds me of Tsing’s view on companies versus individuals that extract resources from the land – everyone has their own reasons for doing so, and such reasons differ in their intentions according to each group. I like how both Tsing and Thomas tie in their research to larger political and economic phenomenon that forces people into their way of living. This methodology helps to capture the larger realities and applications of what they are studying, and for Thomas, within a broader context of Jamaican conflict. Thomas then uses this idea to propose that “violence generally is not a cultural phenomenon but an effect of class formation, a process that is immanently racialized and gendered” (4). One question I have regarding this if she is implying that racialization and gender roles are always inherent rather than culturally founded.
As for the Murchison reading, I was a little surprised that today it is usually expected to share with your ethnographic participants the results and analysis of your data (to avoid an “exploitative relationship”). I hadn’t considered the nature of the relationship between ethnographer and subject/informant in this context, and I think it will be interesting to hear the feedback and opinions of people I interview and study after they provide me with their own thoughts. I’m also wondering how I can apply my research into a broader context outside of its specific area of study. Who is my intended audience? Am I simply telling my research or encouraging people to adopt a certain point of view?