Ethnographic Investigation
Choose an event held/a place at your own home in which you will observe. For example, you can pick one of the family or friend gatherings that you are part of this week. Or you can pick an ordinary dinner time or an evening time at your home. Since this week includes New Year’s Day, you can observe what your family members are doing on New Year’s Day or the New Year’s Eve. New Year celebration is very important in Japan but I did not realize how that is a very important part of me as someone who grew up in Japan. We have special things to do, special places to visit, and special food to cook and eat with people who are special to us. Now I miss Japanese New Year and feel like there is a big empty spot in my life. This is not something that other people can easily understand.
Going back to your fieldnote from last week as well as your 1st Ethnographic Investigation paper. Review your work analytically and identify useful things that you have in them for your second attempt.
Going into the field. Observe and take notes about what is happening and what people are doing for 30 to 60 minutes at the occasion that you have chosen.
After coming back to your desk, reviewing your fieldnote. What information do you have in your fieldnote? Remember, anthropologists try to understand culture holistically. If you have observed your family dinner, for example, small things like kinds of dishes on the table and how they are cooked or the way that people seat at the table and even how people dress may signify your family’s cultural identity.
A description of your fieldwork (Where, When, What, Who)
What you observed
What you did
What you learned from this fieldwork
A thoughtful reflection of your second fieldwork experience
The differences between your first attempt and your second attempt
Two things that you would like to learn more about your research subject
