Came back very early this morning from racing the Thames at the Women's Head of the River Race (WeHORR) yesterday - a 7km course of endurance! Both Hertford College teams did well, and our novice team (W2) finished 2 places above our start, and beat the likes of St. Edmund's Hall College 1st crew. We were also lucky enough to have been coxed by the Captain of Coxes, who was also ace despite his cox box breaking just at the start!
Having recovered (ish), I'm now reading the ethnography 'The Time of Gypsies' by Michael Stewart. I have to write a critical essay on an ethnography of choice, and prepare a 15-minute oral presentation. It's a very compelling read, and because Stewart in unique in having learnt the language of the Rom, a group of Gypsies who live in Hungary, his account seems all the more intimate.
However, analysing it as an ethnography is very tricky. Some anthropologists say that ethnographic accounts should be analysed as a piece of writing and using literary theory (Clifford 1973); some say that ethnography is as much a way of working as writing (Spencer 1989). As such, I have my work cut out for me. Let's hope I'll be as victorious as the rowing team in my essay!
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