Tres mentiras de la etnografía digital
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Resumen
La relativa novedad de la etnografía digital como metodología de investigación, junto con los desafíos que plantea a las aproximaciones clásicas del trabajo de campo, la participación y la representación, da como resultado un repertorio de ilusiones profesionales a través de las cuales los etnógrafos digitales justifican su trabajo cuando se enfrentan a la cultura disciplinaria de la antropología. Este ensayo está basado en la experiencia reflexiva del autor de investigar el uso de los medios digitales en China y actualiza el artículo de 1993 de Gary Alan Fine: "Diez mentiras de la etnografía", identificando tres mentiras de la etnografía digital. Ilustrando cada una de estas mentiras a través de una figura arquetípica: el “tejedor de campo en red”, el “ansioso participante-merodeador” y el “fabricador experto”. Este artículo defiende la necesidad de confrontar ilusiones metodológicas y aceptar las tensiones detrás de ellas como herramientas heurísticas para realizar investigaciones etnográficas sobre, a través y alrededor de los medios digitales.
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