Short Observation & Refection Assignment: Analyzing Community & Cultural Groups
In The Interpretation of Cultures anthropologist Clifford Geertz explains his "semiotic" concept of culture: "Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretative one in search of meaning."1 Geertz's method is ethnography, which uses "thick description" to explain the meaning behind social actions.
In this assignment, you will try your hand at a ‘mini' ethnography-conducting your own ethnographic fieldwork and writing a reflective essay. In doing so you should adhere to the following guidelines:
1. Choose a group (subject) that you want to study and understand. Remember that this group must be particular, meaning well defined and small enough for you to fully observe and describe it, and you must have access to them. Some ideas for subjects include but are not limited to:
• A subculture like surfers at a local beach or clubgoers.
• A residential group like elderly people at a retirement home or students living on a floor of a dorm
• An athletic team or intramural group
• A club or organization on or off campus
• A work environment at a particular place
• Religious groups meeting formally and/or informally
• Fan or friendship groups that have regular activities
2. You must then spend at least 2 hours observing this group. During this time, you will keep a field journal where you write down your detailed notes on the group-ie you should be recording everything you see, hear, smell, etc. Remember to pay attention to rituals, dialogue, environment/place, people's backgrounds, their clothing, their interactions, and
1 Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973),
2. their individual behaviors. These notes will be typed and turned in as part of this assignment.
3. After you have completed your observations, you will then write a reflective response essay on this brief experience with ethnographic fieldwork. This reflective essay will be informed by your field notes. Some questions to consider in this response:
• What are some of the main things that you have learned about the group you studied?
• How do group members understand their identity?
• What do they share in common?
• What is each person's role in the group?
• What are their rituals?
• Do they have a unique or specific language?
• What was interesting about the group and the way they act and interact with one another?
• Was there anything that surprised you about the group?
• What were your initial expectations of your group? After observation, did these expectations change? How? Why?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.