The use of ethnographic research - social research based on the observation of individuals or institutions where the researcher becomes part of the group or very close to the group to better understand their actions - is becoming more and more of a prevalent methodology within sociology. As ethnography gains prominence within the discipline its focus, theoretical underpinnings and narrative styles are also expanding to the yet-unexamined worlds and institutions of society.

"The use of ethnographic research - social research based on the observation of individuals or institutions where the researcher becomes part of the group or very close to the group to better understand their actions - is becoming more and more of a prevalent methodology within sociology. As ethnography gains prominence within the discipline its focus, theoretical underpinnings and narrative styles are also expanding to the yet-unexamined worlds and institutions of society.

From Confusion to Common Sense: Using Political Ethnography to Understand Social Mobilization in the Brazilian Northeast.- Losing Face in Philippine Labor Confrontations: How Shame May Inhibit Worker Activism.- Radical Outcasts Versus Three Kinds of Police: Constructing Limits in Japanese Anti-Emperor Protests.- Honor and Morality in Contemporary Rural India.- Routing Conflict: Organized Violence and Clientelism in Rio de Janeiro.- Vicious Virtuous Circles: Barriers to Institution-Building after War.- Are National Politics Local? Social Movement Responses to the 2004 US Presidential Election.- Professional Performances on a Well-Constructed Stage: The Case of an Institutionalized Advocacy Organization.- Field Research During War: Ethical Dilemmas.- Politics as a Vocation: Notes Toward a Sensualist Understanding of Political Engagement.- Afterword: Political Ethnography as Art and Science.