10/9/2003 Qual
Preparing to do first observation
Homework:
Skim David Fetterman,
Read Glesny & Pashkin "Making Words Fly" in-depth
Ray McDermott, "Acquisition of a Child By A Learning Disability"
Personal definition of difference between thick and thin description
Like the difference between "description" and "inscription" Ð one is just a recorded action, the other is an action recorded along with its complete context and interpreted.
Thea: Lot of description about a tiny thing, not just describing more of everything
Adam 1: A way of dramatizing things, wonders how that would fit with journal's streamlined preferences.
Nick: Liked it, thick description as a "layered" look at a particular situation, not just looking at what happened, but looking at it more causally.
Jane: Defined what an ethnographer's job is Ð the difference is that we perceive and analyze Ð context, culture, understanding, why and what.
Donna: It's context, like Nara and Nick
said, like the wink example, it's not just a twitch of the eyelid
Jennifer: I would
describe it more as taking a photo Ð taking a moment that's unphotographable
and capturing it, also part of it is the perspective of the observer
Hillary: Micro level view of behaviors actions, social norms, how do you take a collection of all these micro views and generalize
Peter: Agree with Nara and Jane, my interpretation was at least we get to know about this one thing, as fully as possible, one more clear picture
Sandy: I got that the thick description was about writing about the smallest quality and treating everything you're observing as equal, not glossing over anything, go and dissect every little thing about that. the equal importance of every little aspect of what you're looking at.
Jenn: To tell the story, you might have a lot of things going on, yopu can't describe it all, or you could but you might not tell a story Ð but two people might look at the same thing and see different stories. Jennifer talked about making inferences and the danger of that sometimes, thick description you can describe things in enough detail to let other people make their own inferences
Nancy: He talks a lot about what you write, but it has to be a lot about what you see, as well. What does the wink-n-twitch example tell us?
Peter: There's a responsibility to understand meaning in whatever culture you're in, to understand the culture well enough to know what's significant.
Jane: Can you really
do thick description for one observation, can we learn the culture?
Jenn: We're within our own culture, that will help.
Nancy: it's a class, you're practicing the technique, so you don't have to do it completely, but it's an excellent point, you'll always be surprised by what you don't know or understand
Sandy : the difference between studying in the village and studying the village
Jake: Really good fiction is anthropology Ð it's been heavily researched and presented.
TJ; What's the goal of the research, and where does that fit in to our interpretation of the research?
Finding one's feet:
Jane: Hillary and I were saying that we really enjoyed the Geertz but the one section I didn't get was the whole section about finding his feet and how that's really key to being a good ethnographer. What's the basis?
DP: "We are seeking to converse with them, a matter a great deal more difficult, and not only with strangers, than is often recognized." Think of language in the broadest possible sense, as culture.
The Spindlers say "make the familiar strange"
Peter: to see where YOU are, enlarging human discourse author to audience, ethnographer and readers.
Field Trip and break
10 minute observation:
Bikes
in sun near cafŽ Ð people sitting on bench. Bikes are not in rows, not locked
up to anything Ð what does this say about security concerns? As we walked up
man on cell phone got bike, put U lock on handlebars. decided to triangulate so
I am sitting near fountain attempting to look studious.
All bikes seem to have mountain bar handlebars, and most are hybrids, though there is little to no rough terrain. Who owns them and why hybrids in the city? Comfort? image?
One bike has both a wire mesh basket on the front and a baby seat on the back. Another has only a front basket. Of the others, they don't appear to have any Éwait, one more with wire collapsible panniers, but the others don't even have racks much less any carrying capacity. This suggests to me that they are used mainly by students who live on campus and use bikes only to get around here. Asian man mid 20's 5'6" 150 lb biked by the bikes and stood up to take the stairs without jostling. Dismounted closer to the green library and left his bike there instead of with the cluster we are observing. Almost all bikes have kick-stands, and none look old or dirty, though I can see one tat appears to have a cracked and weather-damaged leather seat. White blond 5'4" early 20s in sunglasses, watches bikes, looks at me.
Customers from Moon cafŽ on way to Green and vice versa don't go around the bikes. All three (all male, all students I think) weave their way through, in one case awkwardly lifting leg over a wheel to get by, rather than detour around, though distance is short.
Nothing distinguishes this as someplace to park bikes, except that bikes are parked here Ð they sprawl out along the tile, no discernable organization. Two pedestrians (black, white, students) walk by and look at bikes Ð or people sitting behind them
WORK
South asian female early 20's late teens locks bike Ð her backpack is heavy but her bike also has no rack on it. I notice two more seats with cracked fabric or leather. I imagine these bikes are ridden by a combo of working students and relaxing students, as the cafŽ and the library are approximately equidistant, as is the pleasant lawn/fountain where people are lounging or reading. On one of the bikes has a bent and dusty wheel-guard. About half have rear reflectors, and none have mudguards Ð are these not serious commute bikes? Do people ride them at night? In the winter? A blond woman with a cell phone and high heels just wove through the bikes too.
Asian man mid 20's U lock bright red peewee bike. with NON-mountain-bike handlebars. Stops, locks it heads DIRECTLY to library, again with heavy backpack.
Although the bikes are haphazardly parked, none interferes with the wheelchair ramp access, Hispanic male student early 20's on mountain bike bikes down handicap ramp to library and parks there.
Debrief
Field notes (Oublier)
Access story
Group work time