Humanities Homework Help

below i will atach the reading to help.

Option 1: Traditional Ethnography

• Conduct a mini-ethnography of a cultural practice you participate in (for example, attending a Thanksgiving Dinner). Like Miner, approach this practice and the individuals participating in it as if you were an anthropologist visiting a foreign and exotic tribe. Do not take anything for granted and remember that your imagined audience will be unfamiliar with everyday objects (cell phones, computers, cars, etc.).
• Given the main ethnographic methods (observation, interview, textual analysis, participation/interaction), choose the most strategic one(s) to collect the observations that will enable you to answer questions (a) to (f) below.
  • • (a) Setting
      • What is/are the setting(s) where the practice takes place?
      • Who are the individuals participating in the practice?
      • What are the behaviors/interactions characterizing the practice in question?
    • (b) Structure
      • What is the (power) structure in the practice under consideration?
      • What different statuses are visible/audible?
      • How is this structure enacted through members’ interactions? In conversations?
      • Does the setting where the practice takes place express this power structure? How so?
    • (c) Culture
      • What important values seem to be expressed in the practice under consideration?
      • How do the participants express them in their interactions?
    • (d) What do you conclude about this practice? Can you think about other ones that express the same values and recreate the same structure?
    • (e) In what ways are your observations for this exercise different from how you routinely observe people, interactions, settings, and practices?
    • (f) Indicate also:
      • the methods you used to collect your data,
      • the difficulties you encountered and the strategies you used to resolve them,
      • the particular position(s) you chose in the field (complete participant? complete observer?) and the reasons guiding your choice.

Option 2: Social Distance Ethnography in Public Spaces

If you can do so safely, conduct a “social distance ethnography” where you observe (from afar) interactions in public places (campus, public parks, stores, etc.) that enforce social distance norms. Like Miner, approach the norm of social distance and the individuals enacting (or violating) it as if you were an anthropologist visiting a foreign and exotic tribe. Do not take anything for granted and remember that your imagined audience will be unfamiliar with everyday objects (cell phones, computers, cars, etc.).

• Assess the following:
  • • What strategies do individuals use to practice and enforce the norm of social distance with physically co-present others? What are the physical, facial, emotional aspects of social distance?
    • What strategies do those who manage those public spaces use to indicate their compliance with/enforcement of social distance norms?
    • How do individuals react when others violate the social distance norm, whether purposefully or not?
    • Do people react differently if the violation seems purposeful or accidental?
    • Are there any patterned differences in those strategies and reactions?
    • What do those places sound like? Do they sound different than they used to? How so?
• Indicate:
  • • Location, date, time, and duration of your observations
    • Significant differences between the observations you conducted for this and routine everyday observations of people, interactions, settings, and practices?
    • The methods you used to collect your data,
    • The particular position(s) you chose in the field (complete participant? complete observer?) and the reasons guiding your choice, the problems you encountered while collecting the data.
    • Your own reactions
    • The difficulties you encountered and the strategies you used to resolve them

Option 3: Virtual Ethnography

If you do not feel comfortable with options 1 and 2, then consider conducting fieldwork in your main virtual social network. Your exploratory research questions revolve around understanding how members of your main network respond to social distance norms.

• Locate conversations and comments (past or present) that pertain to social distance norms and assess, for example,
  • • How do/did members of your main network define and respond to the new social distancing norms?
    • What arguments do/did they use in order to support their opinion?
    • Are/were there any trends in those responses?
    • How do/did they react to those who challenge(d) and/or violate(d) social distance norms?
    • Other?
• Indicate
  • • The social network where you recorded the conversations/comments
    • How many conversations and comments you analyzed
    • The general demographics of those who commented
    • Your own reactions

• About writing an ethnography

The first step is to take copious notes and lots of details, which you then organize and communicate in writing. The purpose of an ethnography is to produce a convincing story that evokes and interprets a scene, relationships, cultural practices, events, etc. Accordingly, writing counts! Choose the writing style you are most comfortable with, and that best allows you to express your voice to answer the questions and to be creative!!

• Your ethnography should be
  • about 8 double-spaced pages long in 12points font.
  • well-organized
  • showing correct grammar, syntax, and punctuation