Recomendados
Más contenido relacionado
La actualidad más candente
La actualidad más candente (20)
Destacado
Destacado (20)
Similar a Essay 3: The Ethnographic Essay
Similar a Essay 3: The Ethnographic Essay (20)
Último
Último (20)
Essay 3: The Ethnographic Essay
- 1. Part 2: Inquiry Projects Chapter Nine Writing an Ethnographic Essay PowerPoint by Michelle Payne, PhD Boise State University The Curious Writer Fourth Edition by Bruce Ballenger Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 2. THE WRITING PROCESS Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 3. Inquiry Project: Ethnographic Essay How do the people in a culture see themselves and their world? Limited focus on aspect of culture that emerges from observations. Focus Around some thesis or interpretation of how this culture sees things. Organization Offer a rationale for why this group constitutes a distinct culture. Rationale Provide enough evidence from your field observations to make your interpretations and commentary convincing. Reasons and Evidence Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 4. Inquiry Project Inquiry Questions How do the people in a social group or culture see themselves and their world? Motives Discovering the best ways to understand and communicate with a particular audience. Proposing policies that incorporate how affected people see the problems. Improving products and services targeted to certain groups. Developing an informed understanding of cultural groups and theories that explain their beliefs and behaviors. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 5. Features of the Form • Field observations • Artifacts • Images, recordings, video • Research • Interviews • Typical day • Collage • Narrative • Study of a cultural group in a local setting • Subcultures •To observe, interview, and describe members of social groups. •What do they say and do? •What things do they value? •How do they see each other? Purpose Subject SourcesForm Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 6. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ABOUT? “We are all enmeshed—or wish to be—within intricate webs of cultures.” Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 7. Use relevant methods of invention to identify a local culture to study. Opening up (generating): • What kinds of social groups exist in the community? On campus? Narrowing down (judging): • Will you be able to access information on the culture? How do I analyze my field notes? Trying out (generating, then judging): • What further observations can I make? What stands out to me about this subculture? Goal 3 Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 8. When deciding on a group to study… Two Conditions Do members of the group identify with it? Is it a social group with some cohesion? Is it accessible? Will you be able to talk to and describe group members in the field in the coming few weeks? Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 9. Opening Up: Generating Ideas • Journal prompts – Listing – Fastwriting – Visual prompts – Research prompts Identifiable social groups? What have others said about these social groups? Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 10. Opening Up: Generating Ideas Brainstorm a list of identifiable social groups in the community and on campus. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 11. Opening Up: Generating Ideas Choose one of the trends, hobbies, community groups, or campus groups from your first table, and list all of the artifacts, language, and rituals associated with the group. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 12. What’s Promising Material and What Isn’t? • Does the cultural group you want to study meet regularly? • Is there any background research on the group in the library or online that might provide additional information? • Will there be any privacy issues? For example, do members of the group engage in activities (legal or otherwise) that would make them reluctant to talk to you? Narrowing Down: Judging Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 13. Questions About Purpose and Audience Analyze Focus on what is less obvious Look hard and look closely Tell stories, provi de profiles, etc. Discover one main thing to say Find the question Goal 4 Analyze and interpret qualitative information. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 14. Writing ethnographically requires that you expand your repertoire of research to include interviews and fieldwork. Trying Out: Generating, Then Judging • What do people say? Where? And who does the talking? • Topics or issues that arise that might merit follow-up interviews. • Subjects that members of the group often talk about, or things they say that surprise you. • Detailed descriptions of activities, especially those that happen regularly or have particular significance for the group you’re studying. Taking Notes Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 15. Trying Out: Generating, Then Judging Left Side Are certain behaviors repeated by group members? Do group members use the space in a characteristic way? Is the language they use distinctive? In what situations do they use it? Do group members reproduce certain ways of interacting with each other? What are “typical” situations that recur? How do members learn from each other? How is knowledge passed along? What kinds of behaviors are most valued by the group? What kinds of knowledge? How do group members view outsiders? What motivates members to want to belong? Right Side Specific observations of How people in the group interact What exactly individuals are doing Fragments of distinctive language, “insider phrases,” sayings, jargon Notes of overheard conversations or from interviews Specific descriptions of the place, artifacts Rough sketches of the layout of the space Specific observations of clothing, and other cosmetic features of group members Specific accounts of stories members tell each other Field Notes Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 16. Sketch: What Is It? • A “verbal drawing of your topic—an early draft—to see if you should develop it further.” • You may or may not answer the “So what?” question—see what happens. Let the writing help you figure out what you think. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 17. Before Drafting the Sketch… Narrative of thought Strands on the web Examine one strand •Shared language •Share artifacts •Common rituals and traditions •Shared beliefs and attitudes •Common motivations Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 18. Sketch: What Should You Try to Do? • Choose a title for your sketch. • Whenever possible, show what you observed or heard using description, scene, dialogue, and similar literary devices. • Offer a tentative theory about a belief or attitude that group members seem to share, based on your initial field observations and interviews. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 19. The Process So Far… Narrowing Trying Out Abundance SurpriseConfusion Brain- storming Clustering Prompts Sketch Generating • What questions does this material raise for you? • What might it mean? • Why would readers care about this? Now what? Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 20. DRAFTING Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 21. What should an ethnographic essay do? How do the people in a social group or culture see themselves and their world? Interviews Artifacts Observations Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 22. Evaluating: From Sketch to Draft What is my strongest impression of the group so far? What kinds of things did I see, hear, or read that gave me that impression? What is another impression I have? Which one of these two impressions might be a focus for the next draft? What do I most want to know now about the culture I’m observing? What questions do I have? Evaluate your sketch: Respond to these questions in your journal: Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 23. Evaluating: From Sketch to Draft Make a plan for further research and observations: Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 24. Developing: From Sketch to Draft Photos Interviews ArtifactsMaps Reading research Return to the field sites frequently. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 25. Developing: From Sketch to Draft • Analyze the data into categories Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 26. Methods of Development: Narrative and Compare/Contrast A typical day Focus on a day that seems representative Particular time, place, and people Provides dramatic, limited focus Collage Series of significant snapshots of subjects in natural settings Headings indicate significance of scene Narrative of thought Your initial presumptions about the culture How your observations and research influenced those Similarities •Compare Differences •Contrast Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 27. Methods of Development: Question to Answer Provide some background from research about other studies (if any) that have directly or indirectly addressed the question. Explain the writer’s interest in the question. Explain the methods the writer used to focus on the question. Offer a theory, a possible answer to the question. Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 28. Using Evidence Assertions about subculture Photos, interviews, artifacts, map s, reading research, field notes Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 29. Workshopping Purpose Is it clear which part of my topic I’m focusing on? Meaning (What’s the S.O.F.T.?) If you had assumptions about the culture I’m studying before you read my essay, how did reading it change those assumptions? How would you summarize my answer to the inquiry question: How do members of this group see themselves and their world? Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 30. Apply revision strategies that are effective for an ethnographic essay. Goal 5 Does the draft try to say things about the group rather than focus on a single main thesis, interpretation, or question? If your time for fieldwork was limited, did you make up for it by finding some useful research about the culture you studied in the library or on the web? Shaping: Information and Organization Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 31. Purpose of Revision: Shaping Shaping What the essay is about How the draft reveals • Purpose • Meaning • Inquiry question • Theme • Organization • Information Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
- 32. Guide to Revision Strategies Unclear Purpose •Not sure what the essay is about? Fails to answer the So What question? Unclear thesis, theme or main idea •Not sure what you’re trying to say? Lack of information or development •Needs more details? More showing, less telling? Disorganized •Doesn’t move logically or smoothly from paragraph to paragraph? Unclear or awkward at the level of sentences and paragraphs •Seems choppy or hard to follow at the level of sentences or paragraphs? Chapter 13: Revision Strategies 1 to 4 Chapter 13: Revision Strategies 5 to 10 Chapter 13: Revision Strategies 11 to 14 Chapter 13: Revision Strategies 15 to 18 Chapter 13: Revision Strategies 20 to 26 Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Notas del editor
- Students can run into several problems with this assignment:They’ll choose a subculture to which they already belong because it’s most convenient for them. This limits their ability to analyze the strands of the culture, to see certain features as significant in the way an outsider can.They’ll focus on simply describing what they see and hear without moving into reflecting on what it means, what it tells us about the subculture. Often, students don’t quite know how to “see” a subculture, so they need time to understand how to do that. The activities and readings in this chapter will help them.They won’t manage their time well for interviews and observations.They will choose a focus that is too broad.Given these common problems, design your assignment to mitigate a few of them by following the suggestions in this chapter, as well as allowing enough time to complete the field research.
- Refer back to the chapter readings as you present examples of how these characteristics are reflected in ethnographic essays.
- A visual representation of what is in the textbook.
- This slide introduces the methods of generating ideas and emphasizes the key questions students need to ask themselves as they are generating ideas.
- Consider the sidebar “Researching Trends and Subcultures on the Web”: students will find a list of sources on the web they can use for either finding ideas for an ethnographic essay or doing research on it.
- Now that students have a lot of material, they need guidance for narrowing down to a manageable topic. If you are having students write during class (the journal prompts, for example, or clustering), then you can use this slide to guide them as they narrow down to a promising subject. This point in the process is important to emphasize in class so that students choose subjects that are not only manageable, but ones about which they have not made up their mind or know much about.Once students have chosen a subculture to study with a manageable focus, assign them the following activities:Do the fastwriting prompts listed in the chapter.Discuss, in small groups, what they’ve written.Discuss whether this subculture will work for this essay by talking through/writing about the questions under “Judging What You Have.”Draft their plan for addressing the ethical issues that may arise, using the sidebar “Ethnography and Ethics” (page 360) for suggestions. At the very least, they should draft a permission letter for participants to sign.Midway through their research, have students bring to class all the field notes and interview notes they’ve gathered so they can share these with their small group and begin some initial interpreting.
- Students will struggle with going beyond pure description to analysis.Emphasize that it’s important for writers to keep in mind how theirsubject speaks to a larger issue that others can understand, but also not to squelch their writing by worrying about audience and purpose too soon.
- Consider the sidebar “Questions Ethnographers Ask”: The questions listed here will be enormously helpful to students as they interpret their observations and interviews, so go over them before they begin the assignment and then spend some class time in the middle of the process. Have them fastwrite on each one and begin drawing some preliminary conclusions (or discover new areas to research).Consider as well “Ethnography and Ethics”: this sidebar addresses the ethical responsibility which researchers have toward human subjects, and it suggests guidelines for conducting ethnography.
- Practice with Field NotesFor the next class period, practice taking field notes. Choose a site—this could be a place where the people gather in the subculture you are studying, or somewhere on campus where people tend to gather (e.g., the student union, dorm lobby, library, quad, etc.), or somewhere off campus. Record field observations using the double-entry style. (Rather than drawing a line down the middle of the page, try using opposing pages for this.) On the left side of your notebook, record specific observations. If you can overhear a conversation, try to record dialogue. Use your descriptive powers: Describe exactly what people are doing and how they are doing it, describe the scene with as much detail as possible. Make lists of these details if this helps you get them down. Draw on all your senses.On the Left SideSpecific observations of how people in the group interactSpecific observations of individuals and what exactly they’re doingFragments of distinctive language, “insider phrases,” sayings, jargonNotes of overheard conversations or from interviewsSpecific descriptions of the placeRough sketches of the layout of the spaceSpecific descriptions of objects used by the participantsSpecific observations of how group members come and goSpecific observations of how group members respond to outsidersSpecific observations of clothing, and other cosmetic features of group membersSpecific accounts of stories members tell each otherAfter ten or so minutes observing, shift to the right-hand side of the notebook. Write down what those details/observations/descriptions might say about why people gather there, what purposes the place serves, what particular groups the place attracts, what behaviors the place encourages. Record your conclusions about this “culture.”On the Right Side Reflect on whether you see any patterns in the data you collected on the opposing page. Are certain behaviors repeated by group members?Do group members use the space in a characteristic way?Is the language they use distinctive? In what situations do they use it?Do group members reproduce certain ways of interacting with each other?What are “typical” situations that recur?How do members learn from each other? How is knowledge passed along?What kinds of behaviors are most valued by the group? What kinds of knowledge?How do group members view outsiders?What motivates members to want to belong?
- If you have permission from former students to use their sketches as examples, this is a good time to show them.
- Students should spend time in class, ideally, going through the journal steps outlined under “Writing the Sketch” (page 363) in the textbook.
- As noted in the textbook, these are some general guidelines for writing a sketch. Review these before students write one.
- A way to recap what the process has been so far. This can help students see visually that there is a method to what might seem messy.
- It’s critical that students continue to visit and take field notes on the places where the group members frequent. They need an abundance of information in this project so as to make more reasonable, valid assertions about the subculture.Consider referring to the sidebar, “Useful Library Databases for Ethnography” (page 366): This sidebar lists a number of library databases where students can find published ethnographies. As Ballenger notes, students should consult these to find studies that have been done on the group they are studying.
- A way to guide peer response to drafts during class workshop.
- Revision is about shaping: arranging the draft to reveal what the essay is about.