Ethnography, whilst is sounds like a painful medical procedure involving cameras, is really a part of the social science family. The word comes from the Greek language where ethnos means people and graphia means writing. It is the scientific study of people and ethnic groups, looking at resettlement, welfare and social culture.
The study can be done in many ways and utilising many resources. One such method is field based work using observations of cultures and societies , noting what makes them unique and the way that that particular culture works as a sub-unit of society. As well as observing life in the study group, it would be prudent to take the time to get to know the people who make up the group, through talking to people and learning about their culture, will give a much broader understanding of their history and ancestry. The ethnographer would usually focus on one group of people, becoming fully emerged in their way of life and completely understanding their culture and beliefs. They are then able to gain the trust of the community group and learn from the knowledgeable members of the community.
This ethnogenesis, or the process by which people come to be understood as ethnically diverse, can be a purely passive situation. Ethnogenesis can occur across borers of countries, purely due to the fact that there is a physical border which encourages and group of people to be bound by a common theme. This is becoming less the case as time moves on and emigration is common across the world.
Ethnography is the social science behind genealogy whereas the science of genealogy provides the chromosome linkage between families and ancestors. Enthography, tells the story behind ethnic backgrounds and the culture that people live.
The science of genealogy is the study behind families and the links between ancestors. It uses genealogy resources to trace back family ancestry.
Genealogy science uses many methods to trace families, including but not limited to census records, birth records, parish logs and military service listings. All of which give an indication to the way that the family lived years ago, whilst also providing further information about parents and siblings in order to assist the trace further back.
Ethnogensis-The Science Behind Genealogy
January 22, 2011 By