Sneaky Kid and Its Aftermath: Ethics and Intimacy in Fieldwork

Brad’s story began as a case study Wolcott completed on the failures of education. . . . Wolcott published an article on the experience and this topic. This article remains a well-reference source among qualitative researchers. . . . [Wolcott] proves his adeptness as an anthropologist as he is able to capture adequately the specificities of a particular moment and place and, at the same time, indicate their relevance to a much broader social context, in this case, the dilemmas we face as qualitative researchers today. . . . The book’s story reminds us again and again of the inadequacies in schooling for many of our youth, the continued stigmatization and suspicions about homosexuality, and the complex dilemmas of ethics in educational research. . . . An ethno drama is included, written by Johnny Saldana, entitled, ‘Finding my place: The Brad Trilogy.’ Finally, with the includsion of this play as the final chapter of the book, the story of Brad finds its final home. . . . Wolcott’s work, in all its complexity and controversy is now offered to a new generation of qualitative researchers and fieldworkers. This intriguing, compelling work is a touching depiciton fo the struggles of a research amid the complexitites of a new and advancing field of research. (Audrey M. Dentith Columbia Record)

Wolcott is a well-known, iconoclastic anthropologist of education. . . . He provides a detailed, explicit, autobiographical account of the events surrounding the publication of a series of articles on educational inadequacy, subsequently labeled ‘The Brad Trilogy.’ It tells the story behind the trilogy, examining personal, professional, and moral issues raised by the author’s romantic relationship with the middle-class homeless man whose story is told in the trilogy. The book chronicles the young man’s struggle with mental illness and Wolcott’s subsequent encounters with family members, the mental health establishment, the justice system, and the academic world, presenting a firsthand account of the failure of schools, communities, mental health providers, welfare agencies and courts to serve those in need. (J. Armstrong Choice)

This volume is well written and it raises a number of interesting issues, not only about research methods, but also about education, mental health, and the criminal justice system…it is sure to serve as a catalyst for a number of vigorous discussions about ethics and intimacy in the research process. (Amanda Lewis Contemp. Sociology, 33:2)

This book is well-written, compelling and enjoyable…Not everyone will agree with Wolcott’s conclusions about research and ethics. But that is precisely the point. This book can be used very productively in classes in which the ethics of field research is a topic. It will generate a lot of discussion and debate. (Don Kulick Sexualities, 7(1))

Harry pursues difficult goals with lively style, provocative scholarship, and admirable collegiality. . . . This is a book I’ve long encouraged him to write because of the importance of the questions about educational adequacy and the necessary distinctions of education and schooling. The inadequacy of our institutions of schooling, justice, and welfare is an important expansion of the original agenda. (John Singleton, from the Foreword)