MERCEDES-MODELLEN: Feltarbejde blandt de u-eksotiske

Resumé

Anne Knudsen: The Mercedes Method

The author points to the faet that anthropological

field studies generally concem themselves

with people of lower social status than

that of the ethnographer. Taking as her point

of departure a yet-unpublished field study

among weli-to-do people in south-westem

Europe, she draws attention to the places and

methods for encountering members of the

upper classes and gives a range of advice as

to how one goes about building confidence

among sources who do not themselves regard

their groups as fit objects for anthropological

research. Marcel Mauss’ notions of

reciprocity and status are invoked as a guideline

for behaviour, and the author claims that

the seat next to the driver of a private car is an

optimal position for extracting information.