Ethnographic Study

Do an informal ethnographic study that evaluates how some aspect of the physical environment has influenced the ethics, values about physical space, beliefs, politics, or other significant facet of our culture or a sub-culture, and create a video or multimedia presentation that includes text, images, and audio to illustrate your findings.

An ethnographic study provides an understanding of some aspect of a culture from an insider’s perspective, typically using interviews and observations. Researchers infer from people’s behaviors (speech, actions, beliefs) meaning that applies to the group. In this case, your “study” is informal and does not require the conventional documentation of data collection and methodology. As well, you may add elements such as music and text that reflect an artistic or creative interpretation of meaning.

For example, you might evaluate how the physical environment of the typical grocery store has affected our beliefs and values about food (overabundance, ease of access?) or meat (disconnection from the visceral?) … or how dorm spaces alter perceptions about the value of personal space (loss of it? gain of peer community?) and how that affects behavior (pressure to conform?) … or how the size of roads and automobiles in the U.S. compared with other countries affects our political ideology related to fossil fuel consumption (entitlement?). Or …

The objectives of this project are to:

• Increase awareness and understanding of how physical environments affect our culture and the overall relevance of the environment in our daily lives
• Develop an understanding of using narrative with a digital audio/visual medium
• Build skills required for technical presentations

The presentation should stand alone – in other words, it should not require explanation or accompany an oral presentation. Use Microsoft Movie Maker, PowerPoint, iMovie, or other video/presentation software. The presentation should contain multiple images (photography, digital art, graphics, and/or video) and audio (narration and/or music) and last between five and seven minutes. It must not exceed seven minutes.

Test your presentation on a computer other than the one on which you created it. Technical difficulties on the date of the presentation (that could have been avoided) WILL affect your grade. Have this presentation available on CD or DVD on the due date. Include the presentation in your final portfolio.

Your presentation will be evaluated on whether it:

• Adheres to these instructions and includes all of the criteria indicated above
• Demonstrates relevance to the objectives listed above
• Contains visuals, text, and audio that are relevant and appropriate for the project
• Shows a fresh perspective and original thought
• Expresses a level of professionalism appropriate for the audience and project criteria

See “Grades” in syllabus for additional grading criteria. Worth 200 points.

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Some videos sources from YouTube:

Visual Ethnography – Current Theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-Pjzz7LfU

The Anonymity Project – Spring 2009 Digital Ethnography Preview  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKmNvSEJSNI

Soka Ethnography: The YouTube Generation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l30Dn4yupbM

Visual Ethnography: An American Familiy_the way they eat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMdwGxreYcM

Emily Brickner – Ethnographic Research with Go-Go Dancers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRcx3Du8FT0

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Ethnography or observational research http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tHgNXzS2EY

 

 

Karaoke Kulture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa06krFLCQA

Sunday at Smith’s: A Soccer Ethnography http://vimeo.com/3379982 (sports ethnography)

7 minute Psytrance Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vn2g3TnKLE

A Vision of Students Today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=relmfu (not an ethnographic project, but review for interesting techniques)

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Tesla video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklM1AiZX0s