Complex sentence: Until the 1980's, ethnographic writing operated under the pretense of objectivity, in which the ethnographer's ability to appear objective was valued over any admissions of subjectivity due to anthropology's fragile nature as an emerging academic discipline within an academic landscape dominated by empiricism.
Split into simpler sentences: Until the 1980's, ethnographic writing operated under the pretense of performing objectivity. Admissions of subjectivity were rare due anthropology's fragile reputation as an emerging discipline within an academic landscape dominated by empiricism.