Mini Ethnography

Due Date: Monday, August 8 (topic choice due Tuesday July 19)

Grading: 10% of the course grade (10 points out of 100).

 

Ethnographic research is typically associated with traveling to distant lands to study small, exotic groups.  But culture exists at many scales, and in this assignment, you will define a cultural subgroup in our own society, and perform ethnographic research on that group.

This project is designed to force you out of your comfort zone and into a situation where you observe or participate with a group that normally you would not associate.

 

Your Mission: To choose a local, but unfamiliar location or event. Go to this location and spend a few hours observing cultural interactions. You’re now a cultural anthropologist performing participant research – pay attention to small-scale cultural exchanges (e.g., how do the wait staff interact with customers), how signs (like welcome signs or menus) are aesthetically presented, how the interaction space is arranged. These may not seem like "ground shaking" observations, but they might reveal more than you think about the cultures and/or sub-cultures of North Texas.

You will want to take written or spoken notes, and you may want to visit more than once to get a feel for different interactions throughout the day/week.

Topics are limitless, but could include: attending a religious event outside of your own experience (e.g., Jewish temple, Islamic mosque, Scientology), public places like skateboard parks/shops, secret societies, Star Trek convention, and various public events (cattle auction, eating contests).  Use your imagination – the more creative the better.  Just don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation.

By Tuesday July 19 let me know what location/topic you have chosen for your ethnography so I can be sure that it is appropriate.

Include in your paper: You might want to break your paper into sections: 1) where and when you did your field work, 2) why you chose that subject, 3) what you observed and 4) what you think it might mean.

NOTE: If your event is not in a public setting then you will want to get permission to do fieldwork from the owner/organizer of the event. Ask me if you are not sure about the status of your event.

Format guidelines

1)      Paper should have six sections:

a.      A background about your subject

b.      Where and when you did your fieldwork

c.      Why you chose that subject

d.      Your ethnographic techniques (e.g., participant observation, interviews, etc.)

e.      What you observed

f.        What you think it might mean

2)      Papers must be a minimum of three pages not including a title page

3)      You must have a title page listing your name, course number and the title of your paper

4)      Papers must be double spaced and printed in 12-point type.

5)      Papers must have one-inch margins, top, bottom, and sides.

6)      Late papers will incur a 10-point penalty for each 24 hours (or fraction there-of) they are late.

7)      Papers not following the format directions or poorly written with many writing errors will receive an automatic grade of 50.