In Jerusalem, 1997.

Ivan Karp created the Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry at Smithsonian Institution Press in the mid-1980s, along with the series co-editor, William Merrill. This  book series grew from the recognition that ethnography as fieldwork, analysis, and literary form is the distinguishing feature of modern anthropology. The series was devoted to exploring the ethnographic enterprise, guided by the assumption that theory and ethnography are inextricably linked and that advances in each derive from and contribute to the development of the other. The Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry continued for more than 20 years, until the Smithsonian Institution Press was shut down in 2005.

Series Titles:

 1. Tsewa's Gift:  Magic and Meaning in an Amazonian Society. Michael Brown, 1985.

 2. Barawa and the Ways Birds Fly in the Sky:  An Ethnographic Novel. Michael Jackson, 1986.

 3. Pintupi Country, Pintupi Self: Sentiment, Place, and Politics Among Western Desert Aborigines. Fred Myers, 1986.

 4. Independents Declared: The Dilemmas of Independent Trucking. Michael Agar, 1986. 

 5. The Passion of Ansel Bourne. Michael Kenny, 1987.

 6. Pilgrims of the Andes: Regional Cults in Cusco. Michael Sallnow, 1987.

 7. Legends of People, Myths of State: Violence, Intolerance, and Political Culture in Sri Lanka and Australia. Bruce Kapferer, 1988.

 8. The Bishop's Progress: A Historical Ethnography of Catholic Missionary Experience on the Sepik Frontier. Mary Huber, 1988. 

 9. The Transformation of Bigfoot: Maleness, Power, and Belief Among the Chipewyan. Henry S. Sharp, 1988.

10. Raramuri Souls: Knowledge and Social Process in Northern Mexico. William Merrill, 1988.

11. Raiders and Refugees: Trends in Chamba Political Development 1750 to 1950. Richard Fardon, 1988.

12. The Hold Life Has: Coca and Cultural Identity in an Andean Community.  Catherine J. Allen, 1988.

13. Where Are You, Spirits: Style and Theme in Berawan Prayer. Peter Metcalf, 1989.

14. Ritual Passage, Sacred Journey: The Form, Process, and Organization of Religious Movement. Richard Werbner, 1989.

15. Pilgrims of Paradox: Calvinism and Experience among the Primitive Baptists of the Blue Ridge. James Peacock and Ruel W. Tyson, Jr., 1989.

16. Symbolic Immortality: The Tlingit Potlatch of the Nineteenth Century. Sergei Kan, 1989.

17. Cloth and Human Experience. Edited by Jane Schneider and Annette Weiner, 1989.

18. Ambiguous Relations: Kin, Class, and Conflict among Komachi Pastoralists.  Daniel Bradburd, 1990.

19. Knowledge and Power in a South Pacific Society. Lamont Lindstrom, 1991.

20. Conditions Not of their Choosing: The Guaymi Indians and Mining Multinationals in Panama. Chris N. Gjording, 1991.

21. A Green Estate: Restoring Independence in Madagascar. Gillian Feeley-Harnik, 1991.

22. The Mundugumor: From the Fieldnotes of Margaret Mead and Reo Fortune.  Nancy McDowell, 1992.

23. Milk, Honey and Money: Changing Concepts of Pathology in Rwandan Popular Medicine. Christopher C. Taylor, 1992.

24. Time and Order in Metropolitan Vienna: A Seizure of Schedules. Robert L. Rotenberg, 1992.

25. Waucoma Twilight: Generations on the Farm. Dona Schwartz, 1992.

26. Shooting the Sun: Ritual and Meaning in the West Sepik. Edited by Bernard Juillerat, 1992.

27. Affecting Performance: Meaning, Movement and Experience in Okiek Women's Initiation. Corinne A. Kratz, 1993.

28. Cancer in the Community:  Class and Medical Authority. Martha Balshem, 1993.

29. The Aesthetics of Action: Production and Reproduction in an African Town.  Kris L. Hardin, 1993. 

31. A Community in Spite of Itself: Soviet Jewish Emigres in New York. Fran Markowitz, 1993.

32. Becoming West Indian: Culture, Self and Nation in St. Vincent. Virginia H. Young, 1993.

33. Zapotec Struggles: Histories, Politics and Representations from Juchitan, Oaxaca. Edited by Howard Campbell, et. al., 1993.

34. The Ngatik Massacre:  History and Identity on a Micronesian Atoll. Lin Poyer, 1993.

35. Others Viewing Others: The Ethnographic Career. Edited by Don D. Fowler and Donald L. Hardesty, 1994. 

36. Herds of the Tundra:  A Portrait of Saami Reindeer Pastoralism. Robert Paine, 1994. 

37. Legitimate Acts and Illegal Encounters:  Law and Society in Antigua and Barbuda. Mindie Lazarus-Black, 1994.

38. The Phantom Gringo Boat: Shamanic Discourse and Development in Panama. Stephanie Kane, 1994.

39. Los Pastores: History and Performance in a Mexican Shepard's Play of South Texas. Richard R. Flores, 1995. 

40. Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Geoffrey Samuel, 1995.

41. Negotiating Identity: Rhetoric, Metaphor and Social Drama in Northern Ireland.  Anthony Buckley and Mary Catherine Kennedy, 1996

42. Faith in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community. Susan Paul Pattie, 1996.

43.  The Cool Knife: Sexuality and Morality in Kaguru Initiation. T. O. Beidelman, 1997. 

44. Vintages and Traditions: An Ethnohistory of Southwest French Wine Cooperatives. Robert C. Ulin, 1997.

45. Being There: Fieldwork and Understanding. Daniel Bradburd, 1998.

46. Transformations of Kinship Systems. Maurice Godelier, Thomas Trautmann and Franklin Tjon Sie Fat, 1998.

47. Historical Vines: Networks of Exchange, Ritual and Warfare among the Enga of Papua New Guinea. Polly Weisner and Akii Tumu, 1998.

48. Rethinking Hopi Ethnography. Peter M. Whitely, 1998.

49. A People Who Would Not Kneel: Panama, the United States and the San Blas Kuna. James Howe, 1998. 

50. Oldman Fog and the Last Aborigines of Barrow Point. John B. Haviland and Roger Hart, 1998

51. Conceiving Spirits: Birth Rituals and Contested Identities among Lauje of Indonesia. Jennifer W. Nourse, 1999.

52. Devil Sickness and Devil Songs: Tohono O'Odham Poetics. David Kazak and David I. Levy, 1999.

53. Rain Forest Exchanges: Industry and Community on an Amazonian Frontier. William H. Fisher, 2000.

54. Black Tents of Baluchistan. Phillip Carl Salzman, 2000.

55. The Politics of Ritual in an Aboriginal Settlement. Francoise Dussart, 2000.

56. The Power of the Written Tradition. Jack Goody, 2000.

57. Remaking the World: Myth, Mining and Ritual Change among the Duna of Papua New Guinea. Pamela J. Steward and Andrew Strathern, 2002.

58. The Storage Box of Tradition: Kwakiutl Art, Anthropologists, and Museums, 1881-1981. Ira Jacknis, 2002.