1. GUIDELINES FOR FIELDWORK ASSIGNMENT
SOCI 202
Spring 2010 Instructor: Deniz Yükseker

2. How to conduct the fieldwork?
The paper will be based on some fieldwork (observation and or/ interviews) that you will conduct as I describe below.
You will choose a topic and report it to me by 29 April by 5 pm in an message. In this message, you will specify the exact subject matter of your paper, and identify the person(s) you will interview.
The message should have the subject line of “SOCI 202 fieldwork topic.”

3. You will start working on this topic after I approve your topic by responding to your message.
You cannot change your topic without my approval.

4. 20 percent of your grade in this paper.
2-3 typed and double-spaced pages
Due date: last day of classes (28 May)
The topic can be related to anything we already discussed (or will discuss in the following weeks) in this course.
Examples: family, marriage, kinship; religion and worldview; language and communication; social organization (ethnicity, gender, class); economic anthropology; globalization; health and illness.

5. How to? Conduct several interviews for your fieldwork.
The paper: an analysis of the information you gather through the interview(s) using concepts that we discuss in the course.
The paper should have an introduction-discussion-conclusion format. Only summarizing the interview will not do.
Please do not submit a transcribed interview in lieu of an assignment paper! There should be a clear indication that you have used concepts, terms that we learned in this course, and you should give proper references to the reading material.

6. I will process the papers in the “turn-it-in” software that the University has purchased. Therefore, make sure that there is no plagiarism in your paper, and all references are proper. I will give instructions on how to use turn-it-in.

7. Ideas for fieldwork assignment based on interviews
Interview your grandmother and/or grandfather on one of the following topics: The prevalent kinship relations when she/he was younger (descent, marriage patterns, marital residence, gender roles, dowry, trousseau, bride wealth, etc.) Her/his family’s economic activities (subsistence strategies, reciprocity, etc.) Patterns of gender relations; their religious beliefs and practices.

8. Ideas for fieldwork assignment based on interviews
Interview one/both of your parents on one of the following topics: The process of their marriage (arrangement, exchange of gifts, trousseau, dowry, bride wealth, etc.) Their opinions about gender relations (gender roles in the family, expectations from children, etc.) Economic activities: reciprocal social relations (“altın günü”, rotating credit, “açık hesap”, debt exchange, exchange of favors, relations with neighbors, etc) Their religious beliefs and practices.

9. Ideas for fieldwork assignment based on interviews
Interview a friend/peer about their concrete experiences and opinions on one of the following Family Gender relations (gender roles) Marriage (for instance, their own marriage) Economic activities Religion and worldview, beliefs about magic

10. Ideas for fieldwork assignment based on interviews
Interview a shopkeeper/small business owner (esnaf) on his/her experiences on their economic activities (reciprocity, “açık hesap”, debt exchange, markets).

11. Fieldwork ideas based on observation
Alternatively, you may observe social processes such as: A marriage ceremony, Transactions in a marketplace Production in a factory, etc. You would supplement your observations with one or more interviews with persons who are involved in that process (e.g. the bride and/or groom, the parents of the bride or the groom; vendors or shopkeepers in a market). In this case, your paper should include both your observations and material from the interviews.

12. IMPORTANT!
When you write the fieldwork paper, please be reminded of the ethical guidelines which the Sociology Department follows. See Courseware for Sociology Department’s guidelines for student conduct