Returns to the Field

Many anthropologists return to their original fieldwork sites a number oftimes during their careers, but this experience has seldom been subjected toanalytic and theoretical scrutiny. The contributors to Returns to the Field have allundertaken multitemporal fieldwork -- repeated visits to the same place -- overperiods ranging from 20 to 40 years among minority groups in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Melanesia. Over the years of contact, these anthropologists have witnesseddramatic changes, but also the perseverance of the people they have worked with. Invivid and personal essays, the authors examine the ramifications of this type offieldwork practice -- the kind of knowledge it produces, what methodological toolsare appropriate, and how relationships with people in the field site change overtime.