Assignment #1: Starting Field Notes: DUE 9/20
Summary of assignment:
(number components within the assignment)
1. Site background (1-2 paragraphs)
2. Field notes (see minimum requirements above and example below)
3. Reflection on your data. What do you think is important, thoughts, culture?, Questions for the next visit.....
(number components within the assignment)
1. Site background (1-2 paragraphs)
2. Field notes (see minimum requirements above and example below)
3. Reflection on your data. What do you think is important, thoughts, culture?, Questions for the next visit.....
(This is what will be turned into me digitally via blackboard. I highly recommend doing field notes beyond the minimum requirements of the assignments so that you will have plenty of material to discuss and cover in your final paper.)
Hint: Reading the materials for Week 2 will help TREMENDOUSLY if you are having difficulties with this assignment.
"Make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar." -somebody
Introduction: Over the course of this semester you will be conducting a mini-ethnographic project. The assignments over the semester are essential steps for a quality final paper. The first step for any ethnography is field notes, the more you have the better since you will have more to talk about, compare, and contrast.
EX. If you are talking about the train station you can say a lot more if you have notes to compare/ contrast station activity over a couple different times/ days…. Monday morning vs a Sunday….
What are Field notes? (see class readings) They are notes recorded by anthropologists, and other researchers, of observations related to what they are studying. Field notes focus on description of phenomenon. In anthropology they typically involve two steps.
Step One: Choose a Location/ Place. Ideally it will be one that is not familiar to you, so that you can step out of your comfort zone a bit. Priority #1 is safety, DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT WILL PUT YOU IN HARMS WAY. You should choose a location that is manageable and accessible to you. For this assignment smaller is better… so if you want to do the Library, do one of the study rooms….. The CTA Lake station… do the platform…. Entrance…. 11th floor… do the lounge…. Consult with me!.... Do some background research... what is the history of the place... mission... ect... include these findings with your field notes... Since you will be spending some time in and around your location it would be advisable that it be of some interest to you....
Step Two: Go to your location. This is your first time there as a researcher, so take a step back and observe for at least 30 minutes and take lots of notes about what is going on around you. These are called jottings, or short notes, and will help remind you of what you saw later. These are typically recorded in notebooks, paper, note cards…ect … At a bare minimum they should include…..
-Date and Time
-Who and Where
-Note where people are placed in relation to each other/ main objects (houses, trash cans, store, tables ect)
-Main topics of discussion/ events/ observations
-Record verbatim any key quotes
-Record any questions the situation raises for you that require later clarification or follow up.
- Record any ideas/ creative zaps/ insights you have while on location (memory fades quickly).
See here for another field note template. http://anthropod.net/2013/08/14/a-template-for-writing-fieldnotes/
See here for another field note template. http://anthropod.net/2013/08/14/a-template-for-writing-fieldnotes/
Step Three: This is done shortly after step two has been completed. The jottings are elaborated upon into a more descriptive narrative. What do I mean by a narrative? Tell the story of what happened in detail, this is best done away from the field, in a place where you can reflect on your experience. End with a paragraph or two of reflections on the events/ situation relating to your notes. Often times this process creates new questions, pose these questions… And look into them next time.
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Example:
Example:
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Note: these are just some field notes from a brisk night walk... Yours will be longer... These notes function to set the scene of the village where I spent most of my time. Your notes can take on a form similar or be completely different, it is up to you... The key is to describe the scene, what you hear, what you see, what is going on... ect... These notes are purely descriptive, you will want to include questions, thoughts, analysis about your observations for the assignment... When doing research notes are taken daily, some days you only describe, others you analyze and question everything...
11/2/2012
The air is heavy with the moisture, second day of the month initiated the season of rain. A smell of burning leaves permeates the air, a full moon illuminates the treacherous dirt road that is upon the door step of all the homes of this town. The mosquitoes hover in the pockets of fresh air and attack as one passes through the clouds protected the residents who sit in stacked broken plastic chairs. Occasional flickering lights from phones/matches illuminate the faces of people watching those who pass. Hello... Goodbye... A midget dances next to a hard bellied man who finishes the last drops of a bottle. A hearty laugh echoes without origin. The beat of a distant drum calls underneath the lapping of the waves.
Small kiosks proliferate the town, each with its loyal patrons who betray only to find the items that are not found amongst the bare shelves. They all sell the same goods, some have more selection then others. If one doesn't sell it, the next one will... or the next, or they did but none are left. Problems seem far away as the ivory, silver and gold teeth shine through the night at the "Mr. Gringo" who solitarily walks the streets. A little kid runs up to me and startles me, "Mr. Gringo give me un dollar!"
Three crosses mark a spot on the edge of town, before the road turns to gravel, where three were executed and later found found. The killers roam free after avenging their lost packages and a pot of chicken and pig feet simmers above the nose of ragged children who do nothing but dart amongst the darkness. Few meet their fate in town, most go to the cities where lack of opportunity finds them at the whim of criminal elements. They return in coffins or disappear like the group of youth who sought to find passage across the mexican border. Rain upon a tin roof rocks me to sleep joined in harmony by the hum of the broken air conditioner.
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Note: these are just some field notes from a brisk night walk... Yours will be longer... These notes function to set the scene of the village where I spent most of my time. Your notes can take on a form similar or be completely different, it is up to you... The key is to describe the scene, what you hear, what you see, what is going on... ect... These notes are purely descriptive, you will want to include questions, thoughts, analysis about your observations for the assignment... When doing research notes are taken daily, some days you only describe, others you analyze and question everything...
11/2/2012
The air is heavy with the moisture, second day of the month initiated the season of rain. A smell of burning leaves permeates the air, a full moon illuminates the treacherous dirt road that is upon the door step of all the homes of this town. The mosquitoes hover in the pockets of fresh air and attack as one passes through the clouds protected the residents who sit in stacked broken plastic chairs. Occasional flickering lights from phones/matches illuminate the faces of people watching those who pass. Hello... Goodbye... A midget dances next to a hard bellied man who finishes the last drops of a bottle. A hearty laugh echoes without origin. The beat of a distant drum calls underneath the lapping of the waves.
Small kiosks proliferate the town, each with its loyal patrons who betray only to find the items that are not found amongst the bare shelves. They all sell the same goods, some have more selection then others. If one doesn't sell it, the next one will... or the next, or they did but none are left. Problems seem far away as the ivory, silver and gold teeth shine through the night at the "Mr. Gringo" who solitarily walks the streets. A little kid runs up to me and startles me, "Mr. Gringo give me un dollar!"
Three crosses mark a spot on the edge of town, before the road turns to gravel, where three were executed and later found found. The killers roam free after avenging their lost packages and a pot of chicken and pig feet simmers above the nose of ragged children who do nothing but dart amongst the darkness. Few meet their fate in town, most go to the cities where lack of opportunity finds them at the whim of criminal elements. They return in coffins or disappear like the group of youth who sought to find passage across the mexican border. Rain upon a tin roof rocks me to sleep joined in harmony by the hum of the broken air conditioner.
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