Ethnography An Introduction by Michelle Tvete

 Ethnography: “[A] researched study that synthesizes information about the life of a people or group.” Bonnie Stone Sunstein & Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater FieldWorking p. 4  My definition for 1302: Your study of a subculture. Definitions

Language Rituals Behaviors Artifacts FW p. 3 Where is the Culture?

Language Rituals Behaviors Artifacts Observe these to “discover a [sub]culture’s way of being, knowing and understanding” (FW 3). Where is the Culture?

 “[Any] self-identified group of people who share language, stories, rituals, behaviors, and values.” FW 5  Chart with 4 columns: Group, Rituals, Insider Phrases and Behaviors Subcultures Activity

Insider Or Outsider? Subcultures

 Ethnography is qualitative.  Consider your fixed and subjective positions to “uncover the assumptions, preconceptions, personal experiences and feelings that influence” your study. FW 113 Perspective Activity

 Recognize importance of getting multiple perspectives (interviews). Perspective Activity

 Interviews: balance closed & open questions  Ask about a cultural artifact as a way to understand the culture. FW 222 * Students practice interviewing & recognize that everyday objects are cultural artifacts. Artifact Activity

 The Ethnography of Literacy--first essay in Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing (Ed. Tabetha Adkins)  “[S]tunning fact” is that “we do not fully know what literacy is” (4).  John F. Szwed argues that ethnography is “the only means for finding out what literacy really is and what can be validly measured” (13). Why Ethnography?

 Guide to Choosing a Fieldsite Guide to Choosing a Fieldsite by Christy Foreman Choosing Fieldsites