Ethnography Essay
Ethnographic Paper Part 1
Ethnography involves studying and writing about a particular group, community, or subculture. Your role in this assignment is that of a primary researcher.
The point of ethnography is to watch, to try to understand what’s going on, and to ask questions to test your observations. You will become an expert on the community and how it works. We’ll tackle this in steps.
You are required to work with your community, and around their meeting times and rules. You should not change, make recommendations, or attempt to change anything about the community for this assignment.
This is the beginning of your final paper for this class. We are writing it in two parts.
Here are the steps and assignments associated with this first part of the paper:
1. Tell me what community you are researching by 3/25. Here are some examples to generate ideas: – Barber shops, nursing homes, firefighters, church groups, self-help groups, emergency medical squads, athletic teams, day care centers, businesses of all sorts (fast food restaurants, stores, bars), farmers and farm markets, hang-outs with regulars(coffee houses, etc.), fraternities, sororities, clubs, internet forums, exercise groups, fringe groups (punk rockers, hipsters, etc.), non-profit organizations
The most important factor in your choice should be access to the community to complete your observations and interviews. On that day in class we will do an exercise to determine your thoughts/feelings/expectations about this group. This will lead to the first section of your paper.
2. Turn in Ethnographic Essay Part 1 due by 4/21 (Rough Draft 4/8 On Canvas and In Class) including:
1: Positioning yourself as the researcher: Why did you choose this site and culture?
What do you know about them already (before observing), and what are your expectations (this will be an extension of a free write we do in class on 3/25)? Also, describe your plans for observing this group for a short time, including conducting one (or several) brief, informal interview and what you hope to ask.
For example, if you chose a student group or organization you could plan to attend one of their meetings or events to observe and talk to members and ask them about their experiences. Be specific and detailed.
Write this before moving on to 2. (This is due on 4/8 in full along with a rough draft of 2)
2: Your research on this community. This should help you identify things that are common about the group you have chosen such as demographics, the common interests of the group, the history and historical narrative of the group, etc.
For example, if you chose a student group, research information from their website locally, nationally, and their history as an organization, famous members of the organizations, their mission / values / goals, events they hold and activities they sponsor, etc.
End with a paragraph returning to your expectations from #1 and clarifying your expectations and plans based upon your research.
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