After much thought I decided to choose Jean Briggs as an ethnographer I would like to imitate.  I re-read the Kapluna Daughter and went over the material I highlighted and realized that Briggs, like Geertz was descriptive and attempted to place the reader in the society of the Utkuhiksalingmuit where Briggs was going to spend a year and a half.  Briggs explained in depth her day-to-day life as well as the obstacles and/or conflicts she faced while interacting with the Eskimos.  My favorite part of her work is when she explains why she wished to get adopted and her conflicts she encountered going through the process of getting adopted and the events thereafter.

I enjoyed Briggs writing when we were assigned to read the piece earlier in the semester. When I went over the work again I was reminded of Geertz’s work and his use of thick description.  I believe that Briggs has similar qualities and her writing style keeps me interested while educating me in the process.  Even though her writing stlye is descriptive, it is very long and a times her ethnography is repeated and that makes it boring.  Despite that I would like to imitate Briggs writing style so I could inform and educate people about my research.  I like the ability of putting the audience/reader in my point of view and also trying to give the reader ant emic point of view, similar to what Geertz and Boas strives for.

Christina