Critical anthropology and life stories: Case study of elderly Ismaili Canadians

This paper explores the potential of life story approach in the new wave of ethnographic writing. The latter, also referred to as critical anthropology, has come under intense scrutiny as its expressed goal of giving space to the voices of subjects of research continues to remain discretely confined to the ethnographic text. This paper suggests that the life story approach can expand the scope of new ethnography through its explicit recognition of the ongoing dialogue between narrators (research subjects) and the ethnographer. Using the case study of Canadian elderly Ismaili Muslims, this paper shows how the worlds of the latter and the author converge on the common ground of a search for mutual identity and social space, leading to a collective voice expressed through life stories.