Abstract

It has been said that ethnography is «suspended between fact and fiction». If so, can one infer that the proprium of the ethnographic operation lies precisely in such a «suspended» state? Some considerations are advanced here concerning the relation that exists between ethnography and fiction with respect to their basic epistemological operation. Specifically, it is suggested that whereas ethnography is premised on the requirements of «being there», fiction ignites a different dynamic, here defined as «decoming that» (the neologism is explained in the piece).