Two experienced and esteemed ethnographers examine how to use ethnographic methods to conduct research in language and literacy. The authors begin by mapping some of the developments in ethnography across the last century, from colonial interests to contemporary studies of migration, multiculturalism, and global citizenship. The authors then draw from their own field work and that of a novice ethnographer to inform a succession of chapters on research questions, field notes, and analysis. Throughout, the book stresses that "doing ethnography" involves engagement with public life and cannot be separated out as an academic activity. Appropriate for new and experienced researchers, this readable volume: (1) Examines the principals and practices of conducting ethnographic research, including the challenges and pitfalls; and (2) Links ethnography with work in language and literacy, including concepts such as culture, language, translation, multimodal literacies, and language ideologies. [This book was written with Molly Mills.]