It is not often an expert will emphasize what he does not know, but this was how Stuart Blackburn concluded his comments at an ethnography roundtable discussion on Friday night.
Blackburn, a professor at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, discussed ethnography -- the scientific study of human societies -- and the limits of his field's knowledge.
"There is so much more to be done," said the specialist in South Indian folklore, adding, "There is always more to be discovered."
This became increasingly apparent as graduate students and ethnographers contributed perspectives from their studies in places such as Thailand, Slovenia and Newfoundland to the discussion.
A collection of students and faculty responded to and challenged Blackburn's discussion of folklore's role in the growth of nationalism.
Folklore "was seen to be too tainted with superstition, too backwards," Blackburn said. "It was seen as too native for such a modernist project as nationalism."
As he spoke of conducting ethnography and gathering data in his many field studies in southern India, the group debated the political uses of folklore. In the process, they found themselves trying to define the two categories as the complexities of the field became apparent.
"We are not reaching any concrete conclusions. I think we would be sort of out of our league, anyway," reflected South Asia Studies Professor Christian Lee Novetzke, adding, "What we are doing is exploring the process of ethnography."
Roughly two dozen students and affiliates turned out for the event, which was held as part of an ongoing series of roundtable discussions put on by the Center for Folklore and Ethnography, and co-sponsored by the South Asia Studies program.
While most of the attendees hailed from these departments, several participants in the roundtable came to the discussion with less knowledge of the field.
"I've never taken a folklore class, so you see, just the difference makes it interesting," College senior Brooke Newborn said.
Steven Reynolds, a graduate student in folklore and folklife, who assisted Novetzke and Center for Folklore and Ethnography Director Mary Hufford in organizing the event, said he was pleased with the roundtable, commenting that he thought the turnout was larger than he had previously seen.
"Part of the idea behind conducting the workshop is to discuss conducting ethnography and how it relates to folklore," he said.
Though the discussion of this relationship concluded, the debate itself remained open, and Blackburn said that he hoped other students would be as interested in joining the field as he was.
"I found [ethnography and folklore] endlessly fascinating, so I'm sure other people would enjoy it, too," he said.
