Redfield Reading Response

I think that Mr. Redfield’s explanation of anthropological and ethnographic study and growth isn't as forgiving or evocative to the common reader as perhaps something like Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder is. Granted, it is much more academically inclined, with giving the history and the evolution of anthropology since its inception, and presents itself as such, but I found it much harder to wrap my head around the big picture of this reading than I did with Mr. Weschler’s. It’s very bland and it felt like something someone akin to Ben Stein would read aloud to a bunch of sleepy students in a large lecture hall, relaying information in a very straight-laced and traditional way. Mr. Wilson however uses an example of the anthropological and ethnographic study of the specific culture of a museum to provide a frame of reference as to what an effectively written ethnographic nonfiction piece should sound like. It ultimately boils down to learning through information with Redfield, and learning through showing examples with Weschler, and to me, the more hands-on experience works better, but it is just my opinion. I will say that I understood how the reading conveys how study in this field has evolved to allow for more ideas to be made regarding different cultures, and how they can be compared and yet should still be taken as a case-by-case study. I just think the information could have been given in a more captivating and interest holding way rather than just explaining everything definitively.