Ethnographic Interview Paper

This cultural anthropology research report focuses on and interprets the results of an ethnographic interview of Maverick. The individual of focus, represented by the black “ego” triangle on the attached kinship chart, is a nineteen year old male who lives in the United States (Kottak, 2015). Maverick is a second year college student who is currently attending the University of Georgia and resides in the respective city of Athens, Georgia. He is completing course work for a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources with a concentration in fisheries and wildlife. Maverick belongs to a lineal kinship system of bilateral descent which includes one living great grandparent, grandparents, aunts and uncles, divorced parents, cousins, and siblings (González, 2016).
When asked to indicate who is considered immediate family, Maverick responded by drawing a circle on the provided kinship chart that includes; his mother Julie (M), his father Michael (F), his siblings McKinleigh (Z) and Mitchell, his uncle and aunt Chris (MB) and Amber, his cross cousins Emma (MBD) and Noah (MBS), his maternal grandparents …show more content…
Maverick has experienced two divorces involving his parents which contrasts my experience having married biological parents. Also, I represent a nuclear family with two parents and no siblings, whereas Maverick’s family structure has shifted from nuclear to single parent multiple times and includes siblings. Regarding the residence patterns of my family, the majority of my collateral relatives reside in the northeast United States with the majority of my lineal relatives living in Georgia. With respect to Maverick’s kinship system, most of his family lives in either Florida or Texas with only Julie (M), his siblings, and Stefanie residing in Georgia. Both Maverick and I have received pressure from our defined families to pursue a degree and attend