Women's Diaries as Ethnographic Resources

AbstractThis article is concerned with the use of diaries and journals as appropriate source material for anthropologists. I focus specifically on the written works of women; however, I argue that all diaries and journals should be considered by anthropologists as important sources for the analysis of individual thought, feeling, and voice as experienced within a specific social and cultural arena. My concentration on the voices of American women springs in part from a desire to make heard voices that have often been silenced by traditional anthropological discourse. Also, I would like to suggest a relationship between the feelings of deviance and alienation experienced by many women as they attempt to reconcile their own experiences and feelings with those of the society and culture in which they live, and the feelings of the anthropologist who experiences culture shock during the period of fieldwork. These similar feelings explain the reflection in some diaries and journals of themes and ideas prevalent in much ethnographic writing. (Anthropology)