Paper short abstract:

What are the ties that bind educational background and occupation together when ethnologists work outside of academia? This paper tracks the affinities that can be established between ethnological methods or epistemologies, and the everyday work in museums, consultancies and public administration

Paper long abstract:

What is the use of ethnological skills and knowledge when moving outside of academia? Akin to many disciplines within cultural studies and the humanities, an education in ethnology has many potential areas of application, but few obvious ones. Since the access to clear-cut career paths associated with a degree in ethnology is limited, students who do not pursue an academic career following graduation often have to find their own way upon entering the labor market. What constitutes "ethnological" work is therefore a question of personal orientation, which in turn can lead to many different destinations. Translating the educational background to fit into organizations and workplaces operating in accordance with epistemological foundations contrary to those found within the discipline, calls for creativity and flexibility. Sometimes this transformation can make it hard to discern which ties bind education and occupation together.

The paper is based on interviews with twenty-four ethnology graduates working in museums and archives, as public officials and as consultants in the private sector, looking to how their educational background shapes skill, knowledge and self-image in relationship to professional life. I argue that tracking ethnological associations at work is not primarily a question of identity, but one of affinity. Affinity denotes kinship, though not of the genetic kind. Thus, it can take on multiple forms and be traced in several ways - such as through places, problems and practices. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of how ethnological methods and associations change when moving through unfamiliar terrain.