A Year in the Field

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 11:16:57 GMT

A Year in the Field
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Created by filmmaker Dennis Lanson and anthropologist George Gmelch (author of "In the Field: Life and Work in Cultural Anthropology"), A Year in the Field follows  Estonian anthropologist Joonas Plaan as he studies the impact of climate change in a Newfoundland fishing village. The film shows how cultural anthropologists carry out their research, revealing the value of long-term ethnographic fieldwork – particularly participant observation, the quintessential method of cultural anthropology.

Plaan is a member of the Too Big To Ignore research network and avid advocate for small scale fisheries. At first, he struggles to gain acceptance among local people, some of whom suspect he is a Russian spy. However, once he begins working alongside the fishers as a crew member on crab and lobster boats, he not only develops rapport but gains their respect and trust. By following Plaan, the film illustrates all the main elements of field research: from moving into a foreign community, learning the language, defining one's role, living as closely as possible to the ways of the locals, and recording their culture for a year or more.

A Year in the Field highlights the value of local knowledge while also showing how the long-term and immersive nature of fieldwork becomes a  transformative experience for the individual who engages in it.   The film is a valuable resource for anthropology students  and scholars alike interested in an intimate insight into the trials, successes, and unearthings of long term fieldwork.

"Over the course of a year, the film shows environmental anthropologist Joonas Plaan's transition from stranger to community member, fisherman and friend. In so doing, it offers deep insights into the practice of ethnography... valuable to students and professionals alike."
– Reade Davis, Nipissing University

"A Year in the Field weaves its observation of a young anthropologist's rigorous fieldwork methods with his personal story in a Newfoundland fishing village and his discovery that the human cost of overfishing and global warming is the end of a cultural world. ...a valuable addition to introductory and methods courses in anthropology."
– Peter Biella, San Francisco State University

"The reflective nature of all cultural anthropological field work, which links what people say, what people do, and how they tell their stories, is visibly central (in A Year in the Field), while numerous snippets of key ethical principles are interwoven in everyday scenes. This film will make a great addition to both online and offline lessons in ethnographic practice."
– Lynda Mannik, York University

"An intelligent and sensitive film, with numerous insights that ring true for all ethnographic research."
– Adrian Tanner, Memorial University of Newfoundland

"All will recognize the pitfalls and gaffes, the pain and the joy of fieldwork through the eyes of an Estonian anthropology student as he does a year's doctoral research in a small fishing village in Newfoundland."
– Russ Bernard, Dir. Institute of Social Research, Arizona State University

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A Year in the Field