Assignment Task: One method of collecting data for sociological research is ethnography. Please re-read the section on ethnography before you begin work on this assignment.
Sociologist William Thompson conducted a study that examined what it's like to work in a slaughterhouse using an ethnographic approach known as participant observation. This assignment will give you an opportunity to read about his experiences and to answer some questions.
Read: Hanging Tongues: A Social Encounter with the Assembly Line By WILLIAM E. THOMPSON
After you read the "Hanging Tongues" article, please answer the following questions in short essay form (approximately 2 to 3 paragraphs per question.)
Question 1) How did the author manage to get into the plant to do his research?
Question 2) What strategies did the workers use to deal with the monotony? What techniques did they use to feel in control?
Question 3) What was the 'financial trap' and how did workers fall into it?
Question 4) Thompson found that a language emerged among the workers. What terms did they use and what do those terms represent?
Question 5) Was there sabotage on the part of the workers? What factors contributed to sabotage and what factors discouraged it?