2.6 Ethnography!

Discourse, discourse/language analysis, and discourse communities.  
So far this term we have learned to do analysis (and to name and classify and look for relationships between the moves we make as we do analysis!), to name and classify features of language use within a particular genre (jokes);  and to recognize features of discourse communities.  As we continue through the course we will also work on learning to use oral histories, interviews and surveys for research


You can go back over earlier posts, and think about the "moves" for doing research we have learned so far. Good job!

Ethnography
We used  Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes to frame our discussion.  This reading defines ethnography (more or less) as: the inscription of participatory experiences of indigenous culture represented from the perspectives of the observed culture.  This definition emphasizes the participatory nature of ethnography - and the fact that it involves writing.  As you re-read this material (you always re-read the assignments after our class discussions, right?), pay particular attention to the 4 consequences of this definition for writing fieldnotes.  They are listed at the bottom of the fifth page, under the heading Implications for writing fieldnotes.

In our talk about ethnography we noted that: 

• ethnographers need to participate in the culture they are studying in order to understand how that culture works - even though they may never really be insiders;
• that writing (documenting) culture  is central to ethnography;
• that ethnographers' presence/participation will necessarily change what it is possible to observe (just by the fact of their being there);
• and that ethnographers interpretations of what participants' culture "means" - will reflect the ethnographer's assumptions/perspective (which may not be shared by participants).  

We then spent some time analyzing the 3 examples of fieldnotes.  I pointed out that the writing associated with ethnography does not begin with this kind of writing.  In the field, ethnographers make "jottings" - shorthand, meaningful represenations of what happened that allow the ethnographer to remember the details of what took place during the observation.  Jottings are then supplemented - immediately after the observation or as close to that time as is possible - with "headnotes".  This is everything the ethnographer remembers about what happened.  Jottings and headnotes are then used to compose the kinds of fieldnote representations we read.  

The point of reading 3 different versions of fieldnotes documenting more or less the same kind of interactions => was to show that experience can be described from MANY different perspectives.  The three representations we read were identified as having a focus on: objective/spatial relationships; a subjective or interactive perspective centered on the experiences of the observer; and a relational documentation of interactions between the individuals on the scene.  No one representation captures the "truth" => each kind of representation provides a different window on "what happened".

Your ethnographic happening
We spent the last part of class doing an interactive ethnographic exercise.  Everyone was asked to get up out of their seats and come to the middle aisle, and talk to people - particularly people they did not know.  And you were asked to take "jottings" = quick, shorthand notes to help you remember - in as much detail as possible - what happened.  

The "event" lasted about 7 minutes.  I then asked you to go to your seats and add your headnotes to your jottings.  Some of the kinds of "details" you might want to include in your notes:

• where people were standing, who was in which group, how people moved among groups, the overall configuration of the groups in the room
• who talked to whom, short quotes of what people said, the sequence of talk, the overall focus of conversation, silences, laughing, questions, talk inside and outside your group, people leaving and joining groups, language choices
• Chandler's role in the "event", what she said, where she stood, what she did, tone of voice, how comments were received, silences, interruptions
• what people were doing, how they were taking notes, composure, eye-contact, who took part
• the "feeling" of the room, the noise level, the way talk sounded overall
• what people were wearing, facial expressions, body language, distances between speakers

When we summed up, you came up with an awesome list of inferences from your observation.  Good job.  At the same time, the point of ethnographic observation is to IDENTIFY THE FEATURES of what happened that SHOW /PROVE/PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR your  interpretation of what happened. 

For next class:
Read: Coaches can read, too.  (in your kean email).
Blog 5: Post your ethnographic notes.  ALL of them - your jottings, your head notes (everything you wrote down in class right after the experiences) and your "write up" of your fieldnotes (in a form similar to the samples we read in class).   Label your notes.  There should be 4 categories:  jottings, headnotes, things I remembered later, and fieldnotes.

Note: don't worry if this is not perfect.  This was your first time.  Just post what you have and we will talk about strategies for taking better notes/doing different kinds of write ups.

You did a great job today!   Thanks for your good participation and I'm looking forward to next class.