I like how the author opens up the writing giving a detailed picture of the setting.
Especially with there being such a big problem with addiction, I feel like accounts that humanize addicts and make others realize how difficult addiction is to overcome are really important. This country is greatly lacking adequate methods of addressing people suffering from addiction. People forget that addiction can happen to literally anyone and that often many people are prescribed the pills that they become addicted to. This ethnography demonstrates why such studies are important as it reveals the underlying structural and societal issues that are causing such issues. I also like how the author is doing an ethnography of a community that they belong to and that they incorporate the actual language their subjects use, like Zora Neale Hurston.
Another thing that I realized I’m growing to like about ethnographies is all the frameworks and lenses the authors include. I feel like its good for addressing peoples’ different ontologies and provides so much clarity. I think its also a great way to help identify certain relationships or experiences or structures that aren’t explicitly discussed.
Additionally, hearing about the ASI test the author mentions, provides another reason for the importance of ethnographies; they can help develop more accurate means of evaluating someone for a condition that can’t be quantitatively tested for.
I never thought of the issue of looking at addiction as a chronic condition, but it makes sense that especially with a condition that is so subjective, better ways of framing it can and should be developed.
My main takeaway was the importance of determining community relations and structural components when analyzing problems in a community. I feel can be applied to every issue in every community. Trying to unpack these structural issues is important, as well as trying to find solutions that work in the context of the people who are being affected.
In terms of writing field notes, I feel like choosing specific notable aspects meanwhile also having to write down things you may not initially see as significant is difficult. I definitely have to change how I write field notes however, especially because when people speak I’m so focused on directly quoting them. Finding balance is just difficult, and I feel like that’s such an important part of ethnographies in every one of their aspects. Chapter five I think reiterates the importance of understanding other peoples ontologies and looking at these cultures through more appropriate frameworks.