9.17 Part 2 - Introduction to ethnography

We spent the second half of class reading about & practicing (!) ethnography.

We started by talking about what ethnography is and what makes it particularly challenging.  We used the reading on 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.  As you re-read this material for class next week, 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 discussion we noted that:

• ethnographers need to participate in the culture they are studying in order to understand how that culture works;
• 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" - may or may not agree with what participants think their culture means.  

These four features of ethnography are discussed in detail in the first half of the essay.

We spend some time analyzing the 3 examples of fieldnote write ups.  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; an interpersonal or interactive perspective that includes 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".

Interactive ethnographic exercise: participant observation in a class event.  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 8 minutes.  I then asked you to go to your seats and add your headnotes to your jottings.  While you were witing - we made a list on the board of some of the kinds of "details" you might 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
• Chandler's role in the "event", what she said, where she stood, what she did, tone of voice, how comments were received, silences, interruptions,
• 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 pointed out that the talk was "awkward" at the beginning and got more comfortable. That is probably true - but the point of ethnographic observation is to IDENTIFY THE FEATURES of what happened that SHOW (PROVE) that that is what happened. 

For next class:
Read: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes
Blog 3: Post your ethnographic notes.  ALL of them - your jottings, your head notes - everything you wrote down and all that you can remember about the in-class exercise.  Label your notes.  There should be 4 categories:  jottings, headnotes, things I remembered later, and observations about what happened.

In class next Tuesday we will analyze our notes on the in-class ethnographic "event."  You will first define a question, or a problem, you want to use this data to explore.  Then you will name and classify the different elements in the notes, notice patterns, and pose and test theories relevant to your question/problem.  We will talk more about how to do this in class. 

What a fun class tonight!   Thanks for your good participation and see you on Sept 24 (or before for your conference => see the last post for the schedule of conferences).