Advancing the Value of Ethnography

Saving (Tattoo) Clients from Themselves

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Ethnographers are uniquely positioned and skilled to practice an “ethic of refusal" as informed partners and collaborators with stakeholders.

Drawing on direct experience with professional tattooing, Dustin explores the art and strategy of saving clients from their own bad ideas. Doing well for others, it turns out, means doing well for yourself.

Dustin Kiskaddon is an applied sociologist who studies the intersection of culture, bodies, and money. His ethnographic memoir, Blood and Lightning: On Becoming a Tattooer explains how tattooers think, feel, and act at work. It’s based on Dustin’s experience working as a professional tattooer, and it was published by Stanford University Press.

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