Urban Anthropology: Context, Ethnography and Interpretation

This essay summarizes aspects of a possible urban anthropology in Moroccan cities today. It looks at teaching, research project proposals, methods of fieldwork and the construction of texts. The knowledge of spoken language and historical perspective is emphasized. Kinship is seen as an especially useful way of generating knowledge and biographies. The article draws upon the authorʼs experience of research in Moroccan and Tunisian urban settings and provides examples of his finding a voice that cuts across the lines of academic disciplines.