Although Jegathesan does not reveal the plain thesis of the book at the very beginning of the introduction, the way the narrative unfolds allows for a helpful insight into the overall themes and aims of the ethnography. I especially thought the detail about the minister’s (potential) visit helped to add a political context that later feeds into Jegathesan’s aim to uncover workers’ perspectives in Sri Lanka’s post war development of reform and economy.
I also think it is interesting how Jegathesan narrows her scope in the introduction by walking us through her process (workers in Sri Lanka –> workers in Hill Country Tamil –> women and families in Hill Country Tamil) and detailing the logic and importance behind studying women in particular. This was thoughtful as she then explains the theoretical framework and perspectives that will be applied (feminist, humanistic) and why she will be examining certain factors such as tea plantation life, personal thoughts, etc.
Overall, I gained a good perspective on how to thoughtfully and effectively present an ethnography (and claims) in a way that logically makes sense. I also realized it is important to convince the reader why one’s scope is the most important, which I thought was well done in this introduction.