Charlie Barnao

The object of this paper is training sociologists in «person-centered» ethnographic research, i.e. centered upon the social actor, protagonist of the cultural contexts to study. A training model is proposed, based on two cultural approaches: one being spiritual and the other psychological. More precisely, we refer to the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus) and the psychological approach of Carl Rogers (psychologist of the humanistic approach). The goal is to provide useful operational tools in various stages of ethnographic research, enabling researchers to: a) choose the identities through which to have the best access to the field of study, b) establish face to face interactions that are based on the respect of the social actors involved in the study, c) transform those who are called «subjects» of research, in the classic approach of participant observation, into «collaborators of the ethnographer», d) adapt quickly to sudden changes of the field that often characterize studies of «other» cultures.