Week 7 - Posting 7

By now you should have visited your site at least once (if not a few times), interviewed one or two people (or at least set-up interviews for the not-too-distant future), and gathered some research. Now I want you to start thinking about the benefits of fieldwork and what you can give back to your chosen culture/subculture by doing your research. So, what can you give back to your community? You should know a good deal at this point, so what does your community need that you can provide them? What is your contribution (to the community, to our class, to your own education)? Think about it and post on your blogs.

Citing Electronic Sources

Students,

Here is a great source for how to cite electronic sources (including those databases you access through the BSU library): http://www.valenciacc.edu/library/west/research/doc_mla_electronic.asp

D.

Week 6 - Posting 6

Very simple for this week: Locate two sources, read them, and post an annotation for each, just like we discussed in class. So, provide the citation (i.e. how the source would be documented on a works cited page), one paragraph summarizing the source (remember, if it's a research study you need to show how the authors got their results, what their results were, and why the did the study), and a second paragraph explaining how you will use the source in your mini-ethnography.

Week 5 - Posting 5

Though we've riffed-off of this idea a few times in previous blog postings, I think it is important to keep you folks focused and on task: What type of plan have you come up with to finish this mini-ethnography? Do you need more research on a specific facet of your subculture? Do you need to spend more time in your fieldsite(s)? How do you plan on spending that time? Interviewing? Observing? Participating in activities? In other words, how do you plan on finishing this assignment? Also, what questions do you have for me pertaining to upcoming assignments? Activities? Expectations? Etc?

In-class Writing (2/5/09)

Today we will be watching a significant section from the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys: The Birth of Extreme. As you watch the film, take notes and think about how the film pertains to some of the things we' have discussed thus far. At the end of our viewing, consider and answer the following questions on your blog:

Do you feel this is an ethnographic study, a work of entertainment, both? Explain your answer.

Who are the interview subjects and why are they important? What roles do the interviews play? Do they move the story along? Lend a perspective on the subculture?

What are some of the attitudes, beliefs, rituals, artifacts, etc. that make this group a subculture?

What is the structure of the piece? How is it organized? Does this help or inhibit your understanding of the subculture?

What were some of the stereotypes you held about skateboarders before watching this? Do those stereotypes still hold true? If so, why? If not, what changed your perspective?

The rhetorical triangle (ethos – do we trust what the creator of this is telling us…? What if you knew the filmmaker was also one of the skaters? Pathos – what emotional response did you have and why? Logos – how was the piece constructed?)

Week 4 - Posting 4

Can you make any general conclusions about your subculture as of right now? And if so, what are those conclusions? Do you think that what you have been observing is specific to the particularly community in which your subculture resides, or do you think it would be the same even if you observed that subculture in a different community (i.e. is being a server at Ruby Tuesday's the same everywhere? Would a club like the BSU Tennis Club or Campus Crusade for Christ conduct itself in the same way at Kent State? Do the same rituals, beliefs, behaviors, etc. surround all tattoo parlors? etc. etc). Think about how geography, demographics, political and religious positions, etc. play a role in influencing members of a particular subculture.