Project Udate

Last Monday in class while I was discussing my project within the members of my group, as well as thinking outside of class I realized that my project was going to be a bit harder than expected. The logistics would be burden and would probably work against me considering our semester-long project. I originally planned to work with sex ed and the kind of implications that enable accessibility either in high schools, community clinics and our own campus clinic. This is a sensitive topic and finding people to interview would have been a bit hard. Also, if I would have chosen to work with high school students, I would have had to go through school bureaucracy to attain permission and further taking a longer period of time for me to begin observations. My schedule is also pretty constricted and finding time during the day to observe would be a challenge. Therefore, I have decided to change my topic and focus on a more feasible project.

When I was originally thinking of a topic I also thought about working on a project that dealt with language and communication. I have decided to look into the dynamics of a native Spanish speaker and non-native Spanish speaker taking a Spanish class at Southwestern. I also would like to take observations in a less academic setting such as the Spanish table during lunch in the commons.

I am currently taking two Spanish classes this semester and although I am a native speaker, I decided to take classes because I wanted to be completely fluent in both written and oral Spanish. I have had conversations with non-native students who are either Spanish majors or minors and one topic that has continuously come up is participation in class. I want to see how perceptions of either group affect personal participation in class discussions.

Questions I would like address:
-the perceptions of the level playing field of the non-native speaker toward the native speaker and vice-versa
-why such perceptions exist
-learning experiences
-participation in class

More questions will definitely arise as my observations move along. As for the interview portion, I will most likely interview a native Spanish speaker, non-native Spanish speaker and possibly a Spanish professor.

If you've read this and have any comments or any ideas that you would like to contribute, please let me know!

IRB action

So I've finished with the IRB and I found it extremely helpful as far as the organizational aspects of the project. Answering questions concerning the background, purpose, procedures, and measures of the study really helped me focus in on exactly what it is I aim to do.

On another note, I'm having some difficulty finding relevant articles for my topic. I'm curious to see how everyone else is doing as far as coming up with literature helpful to their process/study.

Hope everyone is well! Thanks for your time.

Abstract

Hello all, I wanted to post my abstract as is and see if anyone has any major issues with it. Thanks for your time!

The focus of this paper centers on identity and ability. Through a series of oral history interviews in combination with in-depth subject specific interviews, I explore the relationship between working to overcome physical/mental disabilities attained later in life and working also to recreate identity and space within society; recreate self image. My research will be more exploratory and descriptive than it will be explanatory. This study investigates the relationship between identity and ability, the process of rehabilitation within the context of physical/mental disabilities attained later in life, and to the literature on identity, ability, and recovery.

Also, I found the packet very helpful along the lines of organization and getting things moving. I'm looking forward to completing the proposal and moving past the IRB.

DISCIPLINE & PRACTICE: "The Field" as Site, Method, and Location in Anthropology (Gupta & Ferguson)

T H E F I E L D

"As a metaphor we work by, "the field" thus reveals many of the unspoken assumptions of anthropology (11)."

• Be critical and thorough of your choice of field. Do not settle for a "chance" site.
  G&F warn of chance sites: "The very significant premisis and assumptions built into the anthropological idea of "the field" are in this way protected from critical scrutiny, even as they are smuggled into the discipline's most central practices of induction, socialization, and professional reproduction (11)."
  
• "A "good" field site is made, however, not only by considerations of funding and clearance, but by its suitability for addressing issues and debates that matter to the discipline (10)."
  
• "Our focus on shifting locations rather than bounded fields is linked to a different political vision, one that sees anthropological knowledge as a form of situated intervention. Rather than viewing ethnographic intervention as a disinterested search for truth in the service of humanistic knowlegde, we see it as a way of pursuing specific political aims while while simultaneously seeking lines of common political alliance with allies who stand elsewhere- a mode of building what Haraway (1988) has termed "web-like interconnections" between different social and cultural locations (38-9)."

E T H N O G R A P H Y & P E R S P E C T I V E

• The strengths of ethnographic contribution
  "Ethnography's greatest strength has always been its explicit and well-developed sense of location, of being set here-and-not-elsewhere. This strength becomes a liability when notions of "here" and "elsewhere" are assumed to be features of geography, rather than sites constructed in fields of unequal power relations (35)."
  
• Ethnographic location is less about physical geography than power relations
  "... ethnography has always contained at least some recognition that knowledge is is inevitably both "about somewhere" and "from somewhere" and that the knower's location and life experience are somehow central to the kind of knowledge produced (35)."

second post of the day

I found Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw's, "Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes," to be a pretty helpful and enjoyable read.

Some quotes that I liked:
"...field notes do more than record observations. In a fundamental sense, they constitute a way of life through the very writing choices the ethnographer makes and the stories she tells; for, through her writing she conveys her understandings and insights to future readers unacquainted with these lives, people, and events." P. 16

I also liked how they suggested that the finished ethnographic text crafts "a world on the page." P. 16

"Ethnographers learn to experience through the senses in anticipation of writing: to remember dialogue and movement like an actor; to see colors, shapes, textures, and spatial relations as a painter or photographer; and to sense moods, rhythms, and tone of voice like a poet..." P. 35

I had derby practice this morning so I took a few mental notes that I jotted down later in the day. They lack overall structure but they're a start:

• Derby certainly attracts a lot of strong-willed and social women - I'm amazed that the trainers can organize us and get us to listen so well during practice. I'm also inspired by the fact that there are quite a few mid-forties women in my league, yet many of them still out-skate my twenty-year old legs and give me quite a few bruises up & down.
  

• We have a saying - "There's no sorry in derby." However, with a derby name like Moon Star Twinkle, [it's what my sister wanted to name me when I was born,] I don't feel very intimidating or overly aggressive out there on the track. I really like asking people how they came up with their derby name - some people have some great stories and others just have really great names. Roller derby names are meant to be personal and unique - we have a database that no two derby girls have the exact same name. There's definitely some overlap usually, but some people get really creative. Some of my favorites include: Tsu Mommy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Mama Sutra.

• We've had some new girls join recently, two of them are about my age. I talked to one of them briefly about my ethnography idea and she seemed pretty excited to be a potential interview.

herm

Well, as some of you may know, I have recently been flip-flopping on my ethnography topic.
I am very interested in roller derby and I wouldn't mind becoming a "local expert" on it, as Booth says. However, I think that I was feeling that my topic lacked substantial meaning or direction - how would my findings and research benefit the greater community?

Therefore, I was thinking of possibly switching to studying the environmental organization SEAK here on campus, specifically focusing on how self-proclaimed environmentalists relate themselves to this movement and what it means to them. Ever since taking Global Environmental Justice last semester I have been very intrigued by the history and roots of American environmentalism and how it has changed and evolved over the years. I have found it very compelling to investigate how people, including myself, see their responsibility towards the Earth and how this influences their actions. I would want to study this topic in order to learn more about how to be an effective and constructive activist for this cause.

However, after talking with some friends, I'm also intrigued to narrow down my roller derby topic to researching how roller derby is portrayed or perceived in the mainstream versus what it means to women who play the sport. My end goal would be to bring awareness to the sport and to generate discussion about how roller derby contributes (or doesn't) to the feminist movement. Because I think it's interesting how "feminism" has become somewhat of loaded word in some circles of contemporary American society - I often hear women say things like, "Well, I'm not a feminist but..." I have found some interesting (but not very scholarly) blog entries about roller derby and feminism, such as the one I've included below:
http://meanfeminism.blogspot.com/2006/11/rant-against-roller-derby.html

(I'm sorry that these entries have not been too profound or enthralling - I'm going to try to work on that...)

asdf Maybe I'll just do two ethnographies. I know that I need to just decide and go with something - I'm looking forward to figuring this out tomorrow!

More questions....

Writing Ethnographic Field Notes will help me tailor my field notes taking to my goals. The first time I went to clinic I did not take field notes, so I may have lost some opportunities to note my first impressions. The second week I went ahead and brought a notebook. I jotted notes while I was working in a cubicle, did a few more in my care before driving home, and then finished the notes in my dorm room. I have not written up the field notes yet, but I will try to do so more regularly. I think jotting notes while I am in the clinic will not be too much of a problem, and I can finish up most notes in the privacy of my car before heading home. As soon as I get back to school, my schedule should allow another hour or two for writing up my field notes. I am signed up to volunteer for 2 hours a week. Should I try to ramp that up to 3 hours a week? Or two sessions of 2 hours? Depending on my final topic, I may try to volunteer at different times in the day and in the week in order to maximize the different kinds of experiences. (If I would like to look at the health of community health practitioners, lunch time might be an interesting time to observe, for example.)

A quick foray into previous research conducted in the clinical setting has proven informative. One study investigated the power relation between patients and clinicians. Patients in this study were seen as “subjectified” and victims of “’mechanistic, ‘reductionistic’, and ‘ethnocentric’ practices of clinical medicine” (Butchart 1997). On a similar note, I might investigate the treatment of patients that belong to varying ages and socioeconomic groups that visit this clinic. Another study looked at ritualized events in the clinical setting (Lewin 2009) which could apply to some of the processes at the clinic in which I work. The “discursive construction of contraceptive use” was studied in fertility clinics (Hayter 2005). This inspires me to look at the language used in consultations and in the prescription of various medicines. Another study noted how “culture” were often reduced to being associated with “ethnicity, nationality, and language” of the patient (Kleinman). The clinic at which I have volunteered has a diverse staff and patient clientele, which might making looking at the conception of culture interesting in this community’s specific context. In terms of methods, several studies utilized participant observation, structured interviews (both group and individual) and unstructured interviews, including one that specifically looked at a clinic as social space and that studied the relationship between doctors and patients(Fortin 2008)

Topic

I finally figured out how to post something!!

My Paideia group is working on a civic engagement project about homeless children in Georgetown. So I would like to kill two birds with one stone and do my ethnography on the homeless children in Georgetown to further our cohort’s research. A couple of weeks ago, I met with Zelinda Richards who is the family specialist at the high school. She told me that she knew her students would probably be willing to participate in interviews. She is ready and willing to help me out with anything I need. With that in mind, I am thinking about doing my ethnography on the children that Zelinda Richards works with and how they deal with homelessness in a small town like Georgetown. However, since the children are homeless parental consent may be an issue. Do you guys think this project is possible?

If not, my back up plan is to do an ethnography on the Georgetown Project and how they approach homelessness in Georgetown. I could also possibly look at The Maternity Home in town for ideas.

I would love to hear your feedback on my topic idea and am very interested in what you have to say.

abstract

Hey everybody,

I have my abstract below, I was hoping people could take a look at it and give me ideas on how I could improve it.

As of lately, crime in the border cities of Mexico have come to an all time high, especially in Juarez, which has recently become the new murder capital of the world. The biggest cause of the increase in crime in border cities is due to drug selling and usage. Though many of the drugs that come into the United States are smuggled through these border cities, and are then distributed throughout the U.S, many people feel distanced from the problem. In this paper I will investigate the effects distance has on the perception of border crime by interviewing various people of different backgrounds, culture, and heritage as well as distance from the United States-Mexican border. In doing so we found that there is a direct correlation in how far a person is from the border and how much they pay attention to the news on border crimes because many seem to believe the distance makes it effect them less.