"Authority" Revisited: The "Other" in Anthropology and Popular Music Studies

Initially, we focused on the seemingly taken-for-granted ideas underlying these assertions, namely, that anthropological concerns can be transferred to other disciplines and be dealt with in the same fashion. But is it in fact possible to import into other fields of study anthropology's latest preoccupations concerning ethnography and ethnographic authority and if so, should scholars then address these issues exactly as anthropologists do, regardless of their respective objects of study? Our aim is to highlight some of the issues raised by the latest findings in anthropology, the alternatives being developed, and their relevance for scholars working on different objects of study. Following a critical examination of the anthropological diagnosis of the current state of ethnography, we focus on and discuss the implications of one of the central issues it raises, namely, that of the Other. We then turn our attention to popular music studies to examine the particular ways in which this issue is being addressed. This discussion leads to the conclusion that recent anthropological arguments should not be transferred mechanically, but must be considered with great care and thought, since they not only shed a new light on the already existing debates, but also widen their scope.