English 311-001: Writing Ethnography

(Crosslisted as Anth 399-007 and Soc 397:004)

Fall 2007

 

Dr. Terry Myers Zawacki               tzawacki@gmu.edu

Office: RobA 112a.  Phone: 703. 993-1187    

Office hours:  M 1:30-2:30 and other days by appointment or drop-in.   

 

http://classweb.gmu.edu/tzawacki/engl311syll2007.html

 

 

Course Description:

"Writing Ethnography" entails the close study of a local culture; we will be concerned with the theoretical and practical processes of observing, interviewing, note taking, analyzing, and writing (about) a culture. For your fieldwork, you'll choose a particular site to study, perhaps a culture in which you yourself are already located. Your research site may be a place, a group, or even individuals who share a common experience or interest (i.e. family stories, a shared hobby or craft, online gaming). You’ll spend a lot of time at your site, observing, talking to participants, recording field notes, and interviewing “informants” (people with particular knowledge of the culture). The research you gather will inform and form the ethnographic narrative you write. Along the way, you’ll turn in regular “integrative memos,” describing your progress, making connections among your research data, and identifying themes that will help to focus your narrative; you’ll also turn in, on a regular basis, sections of your ethnography in progress. As background for this work, you’ll read ethnographic accounts written by academics as well as several written by students. The course culminates in a final portfolio containing your ethnographic account of the culture you’ve studied; any “unflat” material you’ve gathered at the site; your field work journal, integrative memos and reflections; and portions of transcribed interviews with informants. Underlying all of our work will be these rhetorical and ethical questions: How do the ethnographer’s own identity and purpose(s) for the research influence what is observed, recorded, and written up? For what audiences and for what ends is the culture being re/presented on the page? To what extent should participants in the culture have a voice in that re/presentation? 

 

Required Texts:

<>Glesne, Corrine. Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction. 3rd Edition. (BQR) (Note: Earlier editions may be acceptable if you can coordinate the reading assignments with someone else.)

Best, Amy. Fast Cars, Cool Rides: The Accelerating World of Youth and Their Cars.  (Best)

Duneier, Mitchell. Sidewalk. (MD) (Note: We’ll be reading selected chapters, not the whole book.) 

 

Required articles on e-reserve.

Password TBA:

Note: I expect you to print out the Lewin, Lawless, and Yocom articles for in-class discussion.

Recommended e-reserve texts:

Gray, Diedre. “Let the Fans Speak: A Study of Anime Culture” (student ethnography)

Keating, Kristen. “Dog Fancier Culture” (student ethnography)

Antram, Alex. “A Different Place of Worship” (student ethnography)

Important websites to bookmark:

Office of Research Subjects Protections:

http://www.gmu.edu/research/ORSP/HumanPoliciesAndProcedures.html

Training information for those seeking Human Subjects Review Board permission for research:

http://www.gmu.edu/research/ORSP/HumanTraining.html

Resources for doing ethnographic fieldwork on folklore topics but also good general info:

http://www.gmu.edu/folklore/resources/

Information about ethnography as a field of study:

http://www.rhetcomp.com/

Click on “fields” and then on “Ethnography”


Course Requirements:

 

Participation—Our class is run as a workshop, so I do little lecturing. Instead you’ll be reporting on your work, leading discussions on the readings, and working with each other in pairs and in groups to respond to and critique each other's work. Attendance and active participation are very important. In order to be an active participant, you'll need to be prepared for every class, whether it be keeping up with the reading, spending time at your fieldwork site, analyzing and reflecting on the materials you’ve gathered, and/or writing up your fieldwork. You’ll also turn in sections of your ethnography at regular intervals, determined, for the most part, by a writing schedule you set for yourself.  

Assignments

The ethnography (15 pages or longer) with accompanying portfolio materials constitutes the major portion of your writing work (and final grade) in the course.

Other: Cultural autobiography and other brief writing exercises, reading log, fieldwork journal and interview transcriptions, integrative memos. Note: Reading logs are due only if specifically noted next to the assigned reading..

Grading

Your final grade will be based on your demonstrated understanding (in discussions, reading logs, peer review, etc) of the theory and practice of writing ethnography and your proficiency in writing an interesting, astute, and technically correct final ethnography.  Approximate percentages: ethnography and accompanying fieldwork = 60% (20% for draft; 40% for final); reading logs, cultural autobiography and other written exercises, contributions to class discussion = 25%; integrative memos and coded interview transcript = 15%.  

· Late Work: Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. Exercises, reading log entries, and other daily kinds of assignments may not be made up if you are absent the day they are due. In the event of an unavoidable absence, you should contact a classmate to find out what you missed so that you will be prepared for class when you return. Please feel free to talk with me about making up work due to unavoidable absences.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703.993.2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.


Provisional Schedule


Ethnography weaves together the strands of several stories: the personal story of the ethnographer, the story of the ethnographer working in the field, the stories of the people at the site, and the story of the site.  --adapted from talk given by Professor Peggy Yocom, GMU Folklorist


I've divided the semester into thematic segments to give you a sense of what our concerns will be as we progress through the semester.  For me, schedules on a syllabus must always be flexible. As I learn more about who you are as readers and writers and you learn more about who I am as a reader and evaluator of your work, together we'll adjust the schedule accordingly. Note: all "homework" assignments are due the day they are listed.

Week One

Aug 27: Intro to Course. What is Culture? Subculture? An ethnography? Ethnographic method? What fields employ ethnographic methods? How is ethnography different from a feature article for popular media? What constitutes a research “site”?

Aug 29: Where is the Culture?  Assignment: Make short list of all the cultures and subcultures you are part of. Read “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” at: http://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html.  Note: To get a sense of what your final project might look like, browse the student ethnographies on library E-reserve. Search by my name or our course. Password: TBA.

 

In her ethnography Prom Night, sociologist Amy Best defines “culture” as “an ongoing process that requires not only a close examination of those practices, symbols, artifacts, and texts that comprise and organize daily life, but also recognizing that these aspects of daily life carry different meanings for the people in these settings as they do for the dominant culture” (12).

 

Week Two

Sept 3:  Labor Day. No class.

Sept 5:  Ways of Seeing. Who am I in/to the culture? Introductions. What accounts for the “gaze” that observes, collects, and analyzes data? Assignment: Read 1) BQR Chapter One, noting especially pages 4-5 and 8-20 on modes and methods, pages 119-125 on subjective lenses, and pages 218-20 on the complexity of this kind of work. 2) “Lesbian Ethnography” (on e-reserve). In reading log, note her assumptions about identity. What is the relevance of Lewin’s discovery about shared identities to our ethnographic work? Write about your identity: Here are some questions to consider; you don’t have to address all of these: What are some of the different cultures you belong to, including cultures which are defined, at least partially, by fixed identities like race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, religion, age, size, and so on. What kinds of things have been said to you about the group? How closely do you relate to the group? How might participation in this group shape your perspectives on “other” groups? Have you ever claimed or denied one of the groups you belong to? (700 words or so, typed double-spaced. Begin with your name as an integral part of your identity.)   

 

Week Three

Sept 10: Locating the culture. Assignment: Read:  1) MD “Introduction,”chapters “The Book Vendor” and “The Magazine Vendor,” and the Appendix. In the Introduction and the Appendix, notice what Duneier says about his methods for gaining access, taping informants, his own positioning, questions of intervention, etc. You’ll have a methods section somewhere in your project, so, in your fieldwork journal, keep careful notes on your own methods. In reading log, note how Duneier sets up his ethnography, how he describes his methods, the details he includes about the site, and the way he uses his interview data. 2) On E-reserve, student Holly Foster’s ethnography of the culture that’s developed around the game of Bingo. In reading log, note some characteristics of ethnographic accounts that you would like to model. Turn in a short list of sites you might study or, preferably, a description of the site you plan to study and why.

Sept 12: Guest speaker. Folklore professor Peggy Yocom.  Assignment: Read article TBA on E-reserve. Be prepared with questions you want to ask Prof. Yocom.


Week Four

Sept 17: Preparing for research. Assignment: Read: BRQ Chapter Two, pages 21-34 on research topics and questions; 38-43 on site selection, time frames, and lay summaries; 44-46 on gaining access; 52-63 on how to write field notes; and the chart on 68-69 that lists different kinds of observational data. Write: 1) Proposal for research describing the site, why you are interested, what secondary research you may want to consult, and how you will gain access; 2) In one or more pages, write a lay summary explaining your research to the participants at the site;

<>Sept 19: Methods and the ethics of entry to a culture. The Human Subjects Review Board: What is it? Who must seek HSRB permission? Informed Consent—required from all participants in your study. See model handed out in class and also:  Model release forms and human subjects consent forms: http://www.gmu.edu/research/ORSP/HumanFormsAndInstructions.html. Assignment: Read: BQR Chapter 6: “But Is It Ethical: Learning to Do Right.”


Week Five

Sept 24: Ethnographic methods. Assignment: Read: DM: “Sidewalk Sleeping,” “The Space Wars,” “Conclusion” and “Afterword by Hakim.” Groups will lead the discussion on each of these chapters. Research: You should be regularly gathering research from your site and keeping copious field notes. Write: 1) Turn in the Informed Consent form you will use. 2) In one page or more (double-spaced), describe an aspect of your fieldsite: a room/space occupied by the group; (i.e. the environment that is typical); the group/individuals you’ll be studying and where you will meet them; or a typical object from your site and why it’s significant. Feel free to use first person.   

Sept 26: Your site revisited. Assignment:  Class discussion of your projects thus far. Be prepared to tell the class where you are with the project and what’s next. Write: Memo updating me on your progress, the most interesting things you’ve learned so far from your research, and the questions that are beginning to emerge. Include a description of your methods thus far. 


September 28: Last Day to Drop

 

Week Six

Oct 1: Interviewing and Transcribing. Assignment: Read 1) BQR Chapter 4 on interviewing, noting especially pages 90-102. 2) Best: Introduction, Chapters One and Two, and skim the Appendix. In the introduction, note how Best situates her ethnographic project in a cultural context (“American life and the car,” “Kids and Cars,” etc), how she defines “car culture,” and how she defines her terms and her study. In the appendix, note how carefully she describes her research methods. In Chapters One and Two, notice how Best incorporates passages from her interview transcript into the chapter. Also notice how she sets up scenes that will bring readers into the culture. Note: Groups will lead the chapter discussions. Please bring book to class for discussion.

Oct 3: Workshopping interview transcripts. Assignment:  Interview someone relevant to your site. Tape record the interview. Transcribe at least three pages of the interview verbatim in a Q&A, single-spaced format (more details given in class).


Week Seven  

Oct 9: Note: Monday classes meet on Tuesday. What’s the story? Finding themes. Coding your data. Assignment: Read: 1) BQR Chapter Seven “Finding Your Story: Data Analysis,” pages 148-154. 2) Chapters two through five of Fast Cars. Note especially the kinds of cultural analysis Best does in each of the chapters. What is her “story”? Jot down questions you have for Prof. Best when she comes to speak to our class.

Oct 10: Guest lecturer sociologist Amy Best. Assignment:  Integrative memo on your fieldwork thus far: What themes do you see emerging in your fieldwork? What data supports those themes? How does your interview(s) support those themes? What questions do you think you want to pursue related to those themes?

 

Week Eight:

Oct 15: Creating a scene. “Thickening” the description. Assignment: Write: Describe in detail those aspects of your site—people, the setting, a particular event, and/or an object—that support a point you want to make. Create a scene, in other words, that will help to illustrate one of the themes you’ve identified in your research. The details you use should come from your fieldwork journal and/or interviews. Incorporate quoted material from your interview and/or overheard conversations at the site. Optional Reading : BQR Chapter 9 “Improvising a Song of the World” (for creative ways to analyze and present your material.)

Oct 17: Assignment: Read: BQR Chapter Seven, pages 164-171. Write: Detailed Integrative Memo due.  Describe where you are at this point in your research: what you’ve done, seen, recorded, and noticed. Describe themes you have already identified and how you’re working with those themes, other themes you see emerging, and possible focal points for the ethnography (a unifying theme). Ask yourself: What do I notice? Why do I notice what I notice? How can I interpret what I notice? (paraphrased from BQR p. 166.) Be prepared to tell the class about any/all of the above as we workshop your drafts in progress.   


Week Nine

Oct 22: What’s the story, cont. Assignment: Read on E-reserve “Ralph’s Sports Bar.” This is a “how-not-to-do-it” piece. Be prepared to discuss (critique) her method, her focus, and her analysis. Write: Transcribe segments from interviews that you plan to use in your ethnography. If you have further interviews to transcribe, write another section of your ethnography based on material in your fieldnotes. Which ever of these you choose to do, you should be sure that the writing supports a theme(s) you’re seeing in your fieldwork.

Oct 24: What’s the story, cont. How a Table of Contents can help you organize the material. Workshopping your draft in progress. Bring everything you’ve written so far.

 

Week Ten

Oct 29 and Oct 31: This is a conference week. There will be no class. Assignment: Compile your materials thus far into a portfolio. Include a 2-3 page summary of the evolving ethnography, i.e., themes you see emerging, possible focus/foci, short descriptions of key informants and events. Use the questions on FW p. 95-96 as a guide. Bring any other relevant writing about and materials from the site and note secondary research that may be applicable. (Consider, for example, the kinds of research Dr. Best used in addition to her own field work.) Reflect on your fieldwork thus far. Think about assumptions you had going into the field and what you actually found. Also discuss what has surprised, intrigued, and disturbed you thus far. Assignment: Read BQR pages 109-119 and 125-127.


Week Eleven

<>Nov 5:  What’s the story, cont. Arrival stories: Traditional ethnographies usually include an “arrival story,” that is, a story about your first time visiting the site as a researcher or, depending upon your site, a story about how you are positioned vis a vis your informants. Notice how the student writers in FW handle their arrival stories. Assignment: Read on e-reserve “Prologue” and “Introduction” to Women Escaping Violence by Elaine Lawless. We’ll discuss this reading in class, so bring your printed-out copy. Questions: How much do you want to tell about yourself in your arrival story? How do you handle the emotions you might feel about a site? Write your arrival story. (Two or more double-spaced pages.)  (We’ll workshop your stories Nov. 13.)

Nov 7: Workshop: Arrival story and “What’s the story?” Bring copy of arrival story to workshop. . 


Week Twelve

Nov 12: Ethnography and feature stories. Assignment: Read: “The Adventures of Greg: Introducing Greg Estrada,” a Washington Post feature available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28671-2005Apr6.html  (Washington Post Magazine. Sunday, April 10, 2005; Page W04). Then read on e-reserve, Jennifer Pohedra’s ethnography “Beyond the Stage.” Take note of the different approaches and techniques the feature story and the ethnography each employ. Also consider the writing style in Fast Cars, Cool Rides, which is, in some ways, a cross-over book (hence all of her methodology in an Appendix).

Nov 14: What’s the story? Assignment: Bring all sections completed thus far for workshopping.


Week Thirteen

Nov 19: Writing it up, cont. Assignment: Integrative memo due. The memo should include a tentative table of contents, an explanation of the material still to be included in sections to “thicken” the description as well as sections still to be written. Put your memo in a folder along with drafts of sections. Read: BQR Chapter 8 “Writing Your Story: What the Data Say.”

Nov 21-25:  NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING RECESS

 

Week Fourteen

Nov 26:  Why does the story matter?  Assignment:  Full rough draft of ethnography to exchange with partner. Keep copies of peer feedback to turn in to me with your final portfolio.

Nov 28: Read Around. Assignment: Bring a section from your ethnography to read aloud. Also: Draft of ethnography due to me with any changes recommended by peer. Include peer reviewer’s notes. 


Week Fifteen

Dec 3: Compiling the portfolio.

Dec 5: Final edits and presentations on your projects.
 

<>Dec 12: Portfolio due in my office by 2:00.  (There will be no final exam in this class.)


Criteria for portfolios: The following questions will be asked in assessing how well the students have fulfilled the learning goals: