sorry for the second post today

Also--just for clarification, what are the readings for this week? I'm sort of lost with where we are on the syllabus. Thanks for your time!!

IRB; Revisions Requested

So I got the IRB submitted on Monday night and it felt GREAT. However, the board asks that I make some changes and include a written site letter from the organization I am working with. All and all though, I feel like I'm on my way! What are other peoples experiences with the IRB? Has anyone else had to make corrections?

I also got my abstract in Monday--does anyone know when we hear anything about that?

Frustration

I have been trying to get a hold of Zelinda Richards and the director of Project SARAH and I have been unsuccessful. I think I am going to have to switch my project to working with the Georgetown project. I feel pretty behind because I won’t be able to turn in my IRB until the next review date.

However I am trying to stay on track by doing a lot of background research. I found a book called Out of Sight, Out of Mind which is about homelessness in small town America. This book will be very helpful in my research.

Permission to Observe

This is a quick update on observations or rather lack thereof. I asked my professor on Wednesday if she would allow for me to observe in class and she was delighted about my project idea. I forgot to mention that I would need to let the class know -- I will do so on Monday. Since my T/Th Spanish class was canceled today due to the Brown Symposium, I have yet to talk to my other professor about my project. I will do so immediately.

Also, I have decided whom I will interview from both classes and I will have them sign the necessary consent forms this upcoming week. Hopefully the initial awkwardness subsides soon after I disclose my intentions.

I found an interesting article today on JSTOR titled, Language and Space, which considers language as an "'everyday' spatial concept" and its relation to cognition. I found it interesting because it relates the way our mind works and how we frame "our" world through the everyday use of language and frames of references in our culture. The following paragraph further describes the concept:

It was suggested...that cognition is the intermediate variable between
language and other aspects of culture. Thus we would expect specializations in cognitive style-correlated with spatial language to surface in other cultural manifestations (Levinson 376).

One's use of language is the result of the prominent frame of references our language makes prominent. I think that it is safe to say that when learning a new language, adapting to a different frame of reference can be a bit difficult. Maybe this is where native speakers have a cultural advantage? I hope this makes sense!

basketball

I've decided that the social dynamic among team sports varies significantly and thus I'm going to focus on basketball, both professional and nonprofessional, in my ethnography. Although I'm disappointed I can't cover a variety of sports I realize that there are some sports that are more classed than others (tennis), some that are more ethnicized than others (cricket, american football) and some more racialized than others (basketball). As far as I know the NBA is the most diverse american sporting league with nearly 40% of its members being of foreign descent. I've contacted my two interviewees and now have to get them their consent forms and start coming up with interview questions.

I planned to ask Su Feminist Voices how they define feminism at the meeting. There were very few people there, most of them my close friends, so I decided to wait till next week or so to ask the question. I want a larger group, so that I can see how people develop and articulate their own ideas with a larger, often interrupting audience.
I am also finding many articles on the subject of negative stereotypes surrounding feminism.

Topic Analysis

I'm currently working on my topic analysis (aren't we all?) and I'm just pretty much trying to break things down as far as questions go. I have the who, what, when, where, how and why, now I just need to put it all together in some sort of coherent paragraph form. I'll have copies tomorrow for all to read.

Thus far, I am becoming more interested in the use of oral language and it's ability to either join people into groups or act as a pulling force. Maybe it would be a good idea to incorporated literature on how spaces are created by language?

2/7/10

Some field-notes thus far:

Roller derby is pretty well-known for the great outfits/uniforms we get to come up with - our bouts are definitely a fun time to dress up a little. In our rec league, we come up with different team themes for each big game - Senoritas de los muertos, Rockabilly Rumblers, Naughty Ninjas, and so forth. However, during practice, most of us wear shorts and a t-shirt - nothing too elaborate - comfort and flexibility are key. It's interesting though - a fair share of the new girls definitely start out in the league "wearing the part" - brand new skates, crazy tights, makeup, and fancier outfits. Yet it doesn't usually take too long for the newer skaters to start wearing work-out clothes that are a little more practical (i.e. stuff they don't mind getting sweat all over.)

I think this might say something about the image of roller derby - from the outside it may be perceived as more about appearance and sexualized-show, but when it comes down it, I think a lot of us wear short skirts or shorts largely because they're easier to skate in...However - I'm interested to explore this some more. We don't have set uniforms in the rec or professional league - the outfits can range from glittery spandex to jean shorts and a t-shirt.

And thanks for your comment Amanda! I think it's a really interesting debate - what does it mean for women to "reclaim their sexuality"? What does that look like? How does one go about that? It's something I'm definitely looking forward to discussing and learning more about through my ethnography.

Okay so I am in the middle of writing my project proposal and have not yet done my IRB. However, in writing the proposal and the analysis it has helped me to develop my idea further as well as got me thinking about some insights and different aspects of my project. In the last class I discussed doing a project surrounding homelessness in Austin so as to provide insight into class constructions. However, I have come to the realization that this topic is not as feasible as I would have liked because I am currently carless (that is not careless mispelled). Because of this, I spoke with Claudia last week and have decided to research the ways in which the epistmological knowledge surrounding pregnancy is utilized as a system of power and that because of this the knowledge of women's bodies by women themselves is devalued and the learned knowledge of doctors, some of whom might inhabit these bodies, is placed at a higher value. My original plan was to somehow view the doctor patient relationships between OBGYNs and their patients BUT given the timeline of the semester, this is incredibly unfeasible. Not only would I have to obtain permission from the hospital and the doctors but I would imagine that patients may not be the most willing participants and if they were they would most likely act differently than they would if I were removed from the situation. Having said that, in the process of writing my project proposal I have come to a standstill. I have NO idea where to conduct the participant observation part of my project. I would like to observe the ways both the public internalizes this learned knowledge as well as their perception of pregnant women. I could go to a clinic and observe in the waiting room or I could go to a mall or I could follow a pregnant woman around for a few days. If anyone could give me a helpful suggestion for this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Topic Analysis - what & why

Hey everybody - here's the topic analysis that I have landed on thus far, I'll bring in some copies for tomorrow as well:

For my ethnography, my goal is to learn more about women’s flat track roller derby and how this sport contributes toward the discussion of contemporary American feminism. Through actively researching and participating in the Texas Rollergirl’s Recreational league, I intend to explore how roller derby relates to issues of female sexuality, athleticism, and empowerment. Through this study, I intend to learn more about what this sport means to my fellow skaters and how it has influenced their everyday lives and identities. Through comparing and contrasting these findings with mainstream perceptions and portrayals, I hope to raise further awareness about this sport and generate discussion concerning the role of roller derby in the current-day American feminist movement.

So I have narrowed my new topic down. I am now looking at how the crime in Juarez affects the residents. I will be interviewing current residents of Juarez as well as people that have recently moved from Juarez. I got this idea when I found out the mayor of Juarez does not live in there because of the crime but instead lives in El Paso, Texas. I have finished my IRB form and project proposal for it, I just need to narrow down the questions I will be asking so as not to make the people I am interviewing feel uncomfortable.

Interviews...

So I was thinking about what to say on my IRB form and am currently trying to come up with the best way to interview people. I feel like interviewing people at a party may make for some interesting answers and probably a whole lot more truth than I'd get after the fact, but I'm pretty sure there's some legality issues with having people sign releases while under the influence, so I'm not sure how to go about my interview process? I was thinking of maybe getting in touch with people the day after the party to do interviews on how they percieve the differences between Greek and non-Greek participation in Greek parties, but I'm not sure if that'll be very accurate... or if I'll be able to get a hold of people the day after a party. What would be the best way of going about this? Thanks!

Es la vida....

I am clinging to a clinical topic despite facing some problems and reservations.

First, I am realizing that the questions in my research that I can ask are far less exciting than I originally hoped. This is mostly due to difficulties in obtaining good quality "data". While I wanted to delve into the healthcare system's failings and strengths via its effects on the lives and health of those who work under its auspices, I am realizing that I may not be able to make enough appropriate observations for this to constitute an individual ethnography. While I hoped to probe the minds of healthcare professionals about how they view their health, I wonder if that will fit in with the other information I will eventually compile into my paper. Thoughts of analyzing language may be problematic because I may not be exposed to the full range of language used in the clinic nor can I tape record conversations (for obvious reasons). I have also had issues being on site. When I tried to volunteer last week, the woman I usually work for was not there. I had to leave after only 5 minutes. Though I was able to make some cursory observations, I was generally pretty disappointed. Ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that I would rather write a sturdy ethnography about a teeny-tiny topic with teeny-tiny implications than try to write an ethnography of epic proportions and utterly fail.

According to this philosophy, I have narrowed my topic to looking at identity construction and community establishment in community clinic employees. This will allow me to dally into the realms of language (e.g. diction, language, accent, etc), office hierarchies, gender, and even race. Also, I will be able to make observations pretty consistently. Furthermore, I have written two mini-ethnographies on identity/persona construction, so I feel this is familiar territory. I have not run this by anyone yet, though, so your thoughts would be much appreciated.

If all else fails, I can always revert to a Southwestern-based project. I even have a hare-brained idea. Project Haiti is trying to raise awareness about the health and socioeconomic situation but we have come to realize that we do not know how to determine when people have become "aware", when they have been induced to care. Other organizations have this problem as well, I figure. How do college students get swayed? Does campus activism actually reach people? How? When? Why? Is there a relationship between outgoing tabling and the success of a campaign? Of course, this topic would open a whole other can of worms. I think I will stick to my clinic topic but this was just on my mind.

Peace.

change of topic

After discussing my topic a bit more I realized that I would be implying there was a correlation between the distance from the border and perceptions of the border. This would be a problem because in interviewing just a few people I would not be able to prove that there is a correlation. Thus I am changing my topic. I still am very interested in border studies so it will be something in relation to that and probably the crime that is currently such a large part of the border.