Representing Ethnographic Data Through the Epistolary Form

Abstract

This article experiments with the dialogic epistolary form as a non-traditional representation of ethnographic research on the topic of breastmilk donation. The epistolary genre was chosen because its structure, purpose, and history embodies the key findings of this research, for example, the gulf between milk donors and recipients and the curiosity held by each for the other. The article argues that the dialogic epistolary form provides a more engaging, expansive, and expressive account of the researcher’s role in the ethnographic research process than that offered by traditional academic genres. The article presents research findings in the epistolary form, which provides an accessible and novel presentation of research by inviting readers to occupy the position of both the milk donor and the donor milk recipient. The letters can be used as a resource by health professionals and communities involved in human milk donation or the use of donor milk. The letters are accompanied by an exegesis which offers ethnographers an account of the epistolary genre as a non-traditional form of research representation.

Biocultural Lactation: Integrated Approaches to Studying Lactation Within and Beyond Anthropology

“…The anthropological, and anthropologically informed, literature on milk donation, cooperative lactation, and human milk feeding is replete with ethnographically informed research that demonstrates the common yet diverse nature of the mutually constitutive nature of breastfeeding, milk, and relationality in diverse societies and cultural contexts Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org. Carroll 2015, Carter & Reyes-Foster 2020, Cassidy & Dykes 2019, El Guindi 2016, El Guindi & al-Othman 2013, Falls 2017, Fioole 2015, Hewlett & Winn 2014, Kramer & Veile 2018, Malcolm 2021, Naef 2017, Nita 2018, Oreg 2020, Oreg & Appe 2020, Palmquist 2015, Rahbari 2020, Rock-Singer 2020, Ross & Waltz 2016, Wellman 2017, Wilson 2018). Finally, Van Esterik & O'Connor (2017 argue that centering breastfeeding as nurture offers a path forward that resists dominant, reductionist, or romanticized models and refocuses the importance of lactation as a relational practice that, when structurally supported, has powerful potential to reclaim and restore cultural histories that were broken by extractive colonial and neocolonial capitalism.…”

Researching Young Men and Family Formation: Two Stories

“…First, we drew on Carroll (2015) and Mannay’s (2013) experiences in translating their research data on donor breastmilk (Carroll) and domestic violence (Mannay) into the epistolary and poetry forms, respectively. Their approaches conveyed the deeply held, private emotional sentiments to a more diverse readership beyond academia, or those familiar with social science discourse (Carroll 2015), and connected “cognitively and emotionally” with audiences to “exploit reflection” and work toward social change (Mannay 2013, 131). Nontraditional written forms in research such as epistolary and poetry forms that themselves drew upon research evidence as their basis methodologically informed the development of our script.…”

“…At the start of his focus groups with young men the monologue was conceptualized as a:Safer conduit for discussion of some of the more sensitive issues through a “third person” as well as an opportunity for the researcher to reflect on how different participants positioned themselves in relation to this embodiment at different points in the focus group activity (2016, 131)For us, the script emerged as a means to engage in role-playing, and affect was a central feature, as it offered potential to engage with, break down, and cut across boundaries in a group setting. Inspired by Carroll (2015), Mannay’s (2013), and Limmer’s (2016) translation of data into creative use, we decided to translate Australian demographic data about the dominant reproductive trends for young men and to turn this into a script that itself would be performed to our participants by young men who are researchers and with expertise in performance. Encouraged by the role of affect in opening up group discussion about everyday practice, and the shattering of silences around sensitive issues as espoused by Playback Theatre 8 and Limmer, we hoped the performance of the script in a small group setting with participants would encourage participants to articulate feelings on a sensitive, and potentially unfamiliar, topic.…”

“…Such research prompted our consideration of how best to conduct research asking men to articulate their privately held reproductive desires. By aligning our research with the dynamic, transformative, and unpredictable forces as described by affect theory (Stephens 2015), and various nontraditional and arts-based approaches to conducting research (Carroll 2015; Mannay 2012; Park-Fuller 2003), we developed scripts informed by demographic research. In doing so, we attempted to move beyond traditional methods such as interviewing, focus groups, and surveys in order to enable the often amorphous, private, and latent desires of family formation to be better articulated by young men to researchers.…”