Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Publication Date

6-2018

Publisher

American Anthropology Association

Source Publication

Anthropology and Humanism

Source ISSN

1559-9167

Abstract

This article develops the concept of “ethnographic advocacy” to make sense of the humanizing, open‐ended knowledge practices involved in the defense of criminal defendants charged with capital murder. Drawing from anthropological fieldwork with well‐respected figures in the American capital defense bar, as well as my own professional experience as an investigator specializing in death penalty sentencing mitigation, I argue that effective advocacy for life occurs through qualitative knowledge practices that share notable methodological affinities with contemporary anthropological ethnography. The article concludes with a preliminary exploration of what the concept of ethnographic advocacy might reveal about academic anthropology's own advocative engagements.

Comments

Accepted version. Anthropology and Humanism, Vol. 43, No. 1 (June 2018): 21-38. DOI. © 2018 American Anthropology Association. Used with permission.

Download
Cheng_12886acc.docx (53 kB)
ADA Accessible Version

Share

COinS