Self -feelings and reflection in field operations

On the difference between the difference between anthropology and folklore, the usual statement is that the former is the study of other people, and the latter has the purpose of "self -introspection". But it is not necessary to refute that in this modern society with so fast liquidity, the boundary between the self and others is no longer like the Western world at the beginning of the birth of anthropology and the so -called primitive society. Such as the increasingly blurred edge between these two disciplines. And the self and others are two sides. Even in the classic national history, the self is hidden in the future. So in the field survey that emphasizes intergians and equal communication, how to understand and grasp the self in the field survey has become a problem that has to be faced.

Hometown and self

The author's first independent field survey was conducted in my hometown. The theme of the research was the village's disease concept. This study is to answer the author's inner confusion, that is, the elders at home, including other villagers, have a different response when facing the same disease. They seem to have a feeling. For example You can find "spiritual media" to see. However, in the author, I have lost this local physical sense, so I started to pay attention to the specific state of the concept of disease in the village and its formation and inheritance process. It is also in the field. For the first time, the author began to seriously deal with family members, neighbors, relatives, and other elderly people in the village. For the first time, he learned about the history of his hometown, the family, and what the elders are experiencing and the future that may appear in the future. Believe in the spiritual crisis in the world.

The author saw and understood the generation mechanism of this crisis, but finally found that a large part of its source came from yourself and his peers. From the perspective of the entire village environment, this spiritual crisis stems from our younger generations to gradually leave this land. Whether in terms of physics or psychological environment, we all go to modern urban life and no longer believe in "superstition" Essence From the perspective of the specific family environment, it is derived from the author's "rebellion", that is, no longer regarding himself as a link of family inheritance, but striving to be a subjective self. However, while insisting on doing self, they also "hurt" their families. For example, when they do not get married and have children at a certain age, they will affect their parents' next life, such as their social and ritual activities. From this perspective, the author's individualization seems to be selfish and individualized. Based on this, the author is always in a torn self -state, and his hometown has firmly grasped the ego of the native part of the emotion, and the learning and working environment has created the self -growing self. And such a clear "pain" state is brought about by field investigations. It is precisely because of the understanding of my hometown and family, and what responsibility I should stand in and what responsibilities I should have. Stand the ground to look at yourself.

Aging, death and self

The field survey completed by the author's second system was carried out in a pension institution in Shanghai, focusing on the construction of the life significance of the elderly.

Like in other strange places, a field survey here will also go through a process of entering the field. From strange to familiar to trust, from cramped to frankness to love. But throughout the process, the author found the most difficult to deal with emotional problems, that is, from asking the meaning of others to seeing and appreciating the meaningless sense of life to the meaning of his life meaning. In fact, in our daily life, the busy life day after day makes us rarely have the opportunity to face so many aging and death, which is also the sea of ​​moral experience brought about by the modernity of Gadenus. In the field, the author has seen many different degrees of aging including disability and dementia. He heard and witnessed the deaths of some elderly people. To this day, the author still remembers the emotional dilemma that he fell after the funeral of an old man. Modern funerals are so fast to a person's death, so no trace. The author began to think about the meaning of alive. This life that was originally sneered by many people was sneer, but now it has appeared in the field so truly in the field and entangled in the author's mind.

However, what can I do for them? It seems that except for recording, nothing can be done. But it is precisely such a "despair" that allows the author to establish a deeper emotional link between the author and them, and then the subsequent fields and information are organized and written, which has changed from task to a voluntary and self -responsibility. And when calm down to truly "want" to do this, the author's sense of selfishness returned. At this time, he found his own positioning in the face of aging and death like other elderly people, and learned to live with them.

"Nearby" and self

The third field survey of the author is a painful narrative about patients with cognitive diseases and family members. The fields are a mutual aid meeting in Shanghai. The study of this group was because the author found that the elderly people had a lot of physical memory and language memory in the elderly of cognitive diseases, and these were closely related to their social process or experience. But maybe because of the marginality of this group or only because of the "very" state that patients cannot communicate. Except for the major of social work, other domestic humanities and social sciences are rarely paid to them. Indeed, the field survey of this group is difficult to carry out. On the one hand, the stigma of the disease itself and the sensitivity brought by it, on the other hand, because many patients themselves have been unable to communicate in words, and they are just just for language, and they are just just. Participating in observation is also very difficult to achieve. As a result, the author's more interview information comes from interviews with their families and caregivers. Most of my interview objects are daughter caregivers, and they have long taken care of their mothers or father who have cognitive diseases. Through the care of their families, they show the following things in common. The first is the reconciliation with his father or mother. Due to the particularity of cognitive diseases, in order to achieve care, they need to understand their parents' past experiences. In the process, they were able to re -establish intimate relationships with their parents. Secondly, I have the ability to suffer. Communication with patients is often unable to be realized through language. Careers can only mobilize their physical senses to experience and guess the other party's feelings and logic. As a result, their bodies become sensitive to the surrounding environment. And this sense of empathy is also a kind of ability to think about and care for others, and in addition to the family, it is also derived to strangers. Once again, reconciliation with yourself. Including their own recognition of the past, and the moral self -identification from the current care of the ground care. The special nature of cognitive symptoms is due to their having to pay attention to all kinds of specific and micro "near" and various connections that are established. As Xiang Bi said, "the meaning and dignity of the individual lies not in the individual, it must be a relationship", and the care provides the opportunity to rebuild the relationship. From this perspective, patients with cognitive diseases are just like a mirror in the entire society, letting us reflect on the existence of ourselves. This also allows the author to return to the original point of my hometown to reflect on his "near".

This is the field survey. In the survey, observed and understood others, and at the same time dissecting and reflecting on themselves. This is the difficulty and the charm. Interestingly, it will eventually make you a better self -made field.

(Author unit: School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University)

Source: China Social Science Network-Journal of Social Sciences of China

Author: Shen Yan

- END -