Reverse ethnography and the prefiguration of expertise in sociolinguistics
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Daniel N. Silva
Abstract
Linguistic ethnographers are invested in empirically studying, rather than presupposing, social problems that are produced in language. Their dialogue with subjects who experience these problems helps explain why fields such as sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology are considered critical. This article critiques the criticality in this field by problematizing the location of the expert. Drawing from dialogue with Rio de Janeiro peripheral activists, I focus on their reverse ways of describing the work of, largely, middle-class ethnographers who approach them in search of data. “Reverse ethnography” captures the critique of traditional ethnographic “informants” about hierarchies and extractivist practices in ethnography. Their refusal to being ethnographed responds to naturalized ways of studying minorities and indexes a shifting ground of expertise. I also discuss my own responses to prefigured models of expertise by drawing on editorial gatekeeping practices where I have been framed as not sufficiently an expert. I analyze anonymous peer reports that display power-laden presuppositions about what kinds of accounts, theoretical sources, and types of data are valid for providing a legitimate sociolinguistic account of the periphery. Ultimately, peripheral activists and scholars’ reversals of prefigured models of studying the periphery may strengthen ongoing efforts for democratizing sociolinguistics.
Resumo
Etnógrafos da linguagem estão comprometidos em estudar empiricamente – em vez de pressupor – problemas sociais produzidos na linguagem. O diálogo com sujeitos que vivenciam esses problemas ajuda a explicar por que campos como a sociolinguística e a antropologia linguística são considerados críticos. Este artigo propõe uma crítica à noção de “criticidade” nesse campo, problematizando a posição do especialista. A partir do diálogo com ativistas das periferias do Rio de Janeiro, foco em suas formas reversas de descrever o trabalho de etnógrafos – em sua maioria de classe média – que os abordam em busca de dados. A noção de “etnografia reversa” capta a crítica feita por antigos “informantes” da etnografia tradicional às hierarquias e práticas extrativistas presentes nessa forma de pesquisa. A recusa em serem etnografados responde a modos naturalizados de estudar minorias e sinaliza um deslocamento nas bases da expertise. Discuto também minhas próprias respostas a modelos prefigurados de expertise, com base em experiências de gatekeeping editorial, nas quais fui enquadrado como alguém não suficientemente especialista. Analiso pareceres anônimos de revisão por pares que revelam pressupostos marcados por relações de poder sobre que tipos de relatos, fontes teóricas e dados são considerados válidos para produzir uma descrição sociolinguística legítima da periferia. Em última instância, as inversões propostas por ativistas e pesquisadores periféricos diante de modelos prefigurados de estudo da periferia podem fortalecer esforços em curso de democratização da sociolinguística.
Funding source: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Award Identifier / Grant number: 314385/2023-1
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Lian Malai Madsen and Eva Codó for their excellent editorial work, as well as the three anonymous reviewers who, alongside them, provided critical feedback that pushed me to further develop and complexify the ideas in this article. I am also grateful to Dominika Baran, Joshua Babcock, Ines Signorini, Joana Plaza Pinto and Ben Rampton for their critical readings of earlier drafts. All remaining shortcomings are entirely my own.
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