both the inferiority experienced by lowerclass
Brazilians and the particular role
of storytelling in the communication of
anthropological insights. The two aspects of
the article are related through the use of stories
(here defined as recounts of particularly
revealing moments during field-work) in the
description of a metaphorical relationship
between broad feet, poverty and second-class
citizenship. Brazil is a society penetrated by
social inequality in all aspects of daily life.
The media bombardment of advertisements
for products of all sorts increases the sense
of inferiority among the poor. Signs on the
body like grey, uncared-for skin and broad
feet due to sandal use are experienced as the
embodiment of ignorance and lack of selfcontrol.
The informant Sonia explains the
position as a “sandal foot” (pé de chinelo)
with her story about lack of recognition and
an often violent attitude towards lower-class
Brazilians in the sphere of consumption as
well as the health care system. In addition,
a particular situation is described, in which
the anthropologist witnesses a medical
doctor misread a poor woman’s attempt
to appear respectable. The anthropologist
feels her impotence and detachment as
an observer, while she dressed as a nurse
unwillingly participates in the humiliation
of the woman. This kind of experience, it is
argued, provides a broadened understanding
of human ex-perience, which may renew – in
the anthro-pologist as well as her reader – the
respect for the Other, crucial to any struggle
for rights on a formal, and in the common
sense, political level. The use of stories as
vehicles for this kind of understanding and,
more pragmatic-ally, for the anthropologist’s
viewpoint in a highly politicized debate
is justified by the particular capacity of
storytelling. Stories about moments during
fieldwork merge the “knower” and the
known, it is argued, and engage the reader’s
imagination and experience in the attempt to
follow the process of knowing. They may
therefore provide a richer understanding of
anthro-pological insights than descriptions
based on information and explanation alone.
Besides, stories are per definition positioned,
as there would be nothing to tell if nobody had
sensed, felt and thought anything. Therefore,
the telling of stories clearly engages the
reader in an interpretation of the relationship
between field, anthropologist and text. These
two aspects of storytelling, the transportation
of the reader to the field site by way of
imagination, and the demand on the reader’s
ability to interpret told situations, allow for
a reflection upon human conditioning and
the resulting plurality of perspectives. It also
allows the anthropologist to put forward her
perspective without postulating any superior
knowledge.
Media we Francji w kontekście czwartej rewolucji przemysłowej Klausa Schwaba. Wybrana problematyka
