Overview
The purpose of this fourth assignment is to encourage you to flex your fieldwork muscles by conducting a mini-ethnography. In light of the unique restrictions imposed by the new social distance norms, you have two options on how and where to do so.
Directions
- Read Miner’s "Nacirema"
- Watch this Video: "What is Ethnography."
- Choose one option:
(A) Traditional Ethnography
Conduct a mini-ethnography of an everyday cultural practice you participate in (for example, going on a date, studying at the library, eating with family. etc.). Like Miner, approach this practice and the individuals participating in it as if you were an anthropologist visiting a foreign and exotic tribe. Do not take anything for granted; remember that your imagined audience will be unfamiliar with everyday objects (cell phones, computers, cars, etc.).
or (B) Virtual Ethnography
If you do not feel comfortable with the first option, consider conducting fieldwork in your main virtual social network (a Facebook group, Instagram comments, Twitter replies, Discord group, Sub-Reddit, etc.). Your exploratory research questions revolve around understanding how members of your main network operate or the rules that must be followed to keep the group "smooth sailing."
Given the main ethnographic methods (observation, interview, textual analysis, participation/interaction), the answer questions (1) to (8) below.
- What is the practice? Why is it important?
- What is/are the setting(s) where the practice occurs? Who are the individuals participating in the practice? What are the behaviors/interactions that make it that practice?
- What is the power (who is in charge/who is following) structure within the practice being discussed? How can you tell who is leading/following? How do they express it? Through interactions/conversations?
- What important values are expressed in the practice under consideration? How do the participants express them in their interactions?
- What do you conclude about this practice? Can you think about other ones that express the same values and recreate the same structure?
- In what ways are your observations for this exercise different from how you routinely observe people, interactions, settings, and practices?
- Your reactions. What did you do? How do you feel about the practices?
- Indicate
- Place, date, time, and duration of the observations
- Difficulties you encountered and the strategies you used to resolve them
About Writing an Ethnography The first step is to take copious notes and lots of details, which you then organize and communicate in writing. An ethnography aims to produce a convincing story that evokes and interprets a scene, relationships, cultural practices, events, etc. Accordingly, writing counts! Choose the writing style you are most comfortable with that best allows you to express your voice.
Paper Specifications
- 12-point Times New Roman
- Double-Spaced
- 3-4 Pages
- See the rubric below to see how I will grade the assignment