FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research, 4th Edition

FieldWorking is a fun and practical guide to research and writing. This acclaimed text incorporates examples by professional writers such as Peter Elbow, Joan Didion, Oliver Sacks, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as student research projects on communities as diverse a truck stop, sports bar, homeless shelter, and horse sales barn, to help students identify and define their own subcultures and communities. In unique activities and comprehensive instruction, FieldWorking presents an ethnographic approach that empowers students to observe, listen, interpret, analyze, and write about the people and artifacts around them, while learning the essentials of college writing and research. FieldWorking is suitable for courses in English, anthropology, cultural studies, journalism — or in any discipline where research is required. Cover Page......Page 1 Half-Title Page......Page 3 Title Page......Page 5 Copyright Page......Page 6 Dedication Page......Page 7 About the Authors......Page 9 To the Instructor......Page 11 How Is the Fourth Edition Like Earlier Editions?......Page 12 More Digital Choices for FieldWorking......Page 13 Instructor Resources......Page 14 How Can You Use FieldWorking?......Page 15 Acknowledgments......Page 16 Understanding This Book......Page 19 Understanding FieldWorking’s Special Features......Page 20 And . . . about Us......Page 21 Contents......Page 23 Chapter 1: Stepping In and Stepping Out: Understanding Cultures......Page 31 Defining Culture: Fieldwork and Ethnography......Page 32 Stepping In: Revealing Our Subcultures......Page 34 BOX 1: Looking at Subcultures......Page 35 Investigating Perspectives: Insider and Outsider......Page 36 Body Ritual among the Nacirema, Horace Miner......Page 38 BOX 2: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary......Page 43 Folk “Cure” Sold Locally High in Lead, Lorraine Ahearn......Page 44 BOX 3: Engaging the Ethnographic Perspective......Page 48 Fairfax Residents Become U.S. Citizens, Julie O’Donoghue, Fairfax Connection......Page 49 Fieldworking with This Book......Page 52 An Ethnographic Study: “Friday Night at Iowa 80”......Page 53 Friday Night at Iowa 80: The Truck Stop as Community and Culture, Rick Zollo (Student Project)......Page 54 Doing Research Online......Page 69 FieldWriting: Establishing a Voice......Page 70 A Community Action Study......Page 73 House for the Homeless: A Place to Hang Your Hat, Ivana Nikolic (Student Project)......Page 74 Reflection as Critique......Page 81 The Research Portfolio: Definitions and Purpose......Page 82 DO THIS: Select a Fieldsite......Page 84 Chapter 2: Writing Self, Writing Cultures: Understanding FieldWriting......Page 85 Exploratory Writing......Page 87 Freewriting: Peter Elbow......Page 88 BOX 4: Exploratory Writing......Page 91 FieldWriting: Point of View and Rhetoric......Page 93 On Keeping a Notebook, Joan Didion......Page 96 BOX 5: Exploratory Notetaking with a Group......Page 102 Getting at the Details......Page 103 Look at Your Fish, Samuel H. Scudder......Page 104 BOX 6: Double-Entry Notes......Page 108 Fieldnotes: The Key to Your Project......Page 110 Organizing Your Fieldnotes......Page 113 BOX 7: Sharing Your Initial Fieldnotes......Page 115 Analyzing Your Fieldnotes......Page 116 BOX 8: Questioning Your Fieldnotes......Page 118 Feng-Shui: Reflections on a Sociology Class, Amy Lambert (Student Project)......Page 122 Double Voiced Fieldnotes......Page 123 Representing Ethnographic Experiences, H. L. “Bud” Goodall......Page 124 The Research Portfolio: Reflecting on Your Fieldnotes......Page 129 DO THIS: Question Your Notes......Page 130 Chapter 3: Reading Self, Reading Cultures: Understanding Texts......Page 131 Reading Cultures as Text and Texts as Culture......Page 132 Mama Day, Gloria Naylor......Page 133 BOX 9: Responding to Text......Page 139 Positioning: Reading and Writing about Yourself......Page 141 BOX 10: Positioning Yourself......Page 143 Understanding Positioning: Checking In on Yourself......Page 145 BOX 11: Unlearning Our Privilege (by Mimi Harvey)......Page 147 Getting Permission......Page 149 BOX 12: From Ethos to Ethics (by Julie Cheville)......Page 152 Reading an Object: The Cultural Artifact......Page 154 BOX 13: Reading an Artifact (by Beth Campbell)......Page 156 Everyday Use, Alice Walker......Page 159 Responding to Reading......Page 166 BOX 14: Fieldworking Book Clubs (by Kathleen Ryan)......Page 167 FieldWriting: Published and Unpublished Written Sources......Page 170 Reading Electronic Communities......Page 171 Out Patients, Elise Wu (Student Project)......Page 173 Working with Online Communities......Page 185 BOX 15: Locating Online Cultures......Page 188 The Research Portfolio: An Option for Rereading......Page 191 DO THIS: Read Your Fieldsite......Page 193 Chapter 4: Researching Place: The Spatial Gaze......Page 195 Personal Geography......Page 196 On Seeing England for the First Time, Jamaica Kincaid......Page 197 BOX 16: Recalling a Sense of Place......Page 198 Selective Perception......Page 200 FieldWriting: The Grammar of Observation......Page 202 BOX 17: Writing a Verbal Snapshot......Page 205 The Cemetery as Marketplace in Salem, Massachusetts, Jeannie Banks Thomas......Page 209 Learning How to Look: Mapping Space......Page 216 BOX 18: Mapping Space......Page 217 Learning How to Look: Finding a Focal Point......Page 222 BOX 19: Finding a Focal Point......Page 223 Learning How to Look: Identifying Unity and Tension......Page 224 Strike a Pose, Karen Downing (Student Project)......Page 225 Learning How to Look: Colonized Spaces......Page 227 The Happy Canyon, Jennifer Hemmingsen (Student Project)......Page 228 The Research Portfolio: Learning from Your Data......Page 234 A Pose on “Strike a Pose,” Karen Downing (Portfolio Reflection)......Page 245 DO THIS: Map Your Space......Page 247 Chapter 5: Researching People: The Collaborative Listener......Page 249 The Interview: Learning How to Ask......Page 250 BOX 20: Using a Cultural Artifact in an Interview......Page 252 Learning How to Listen......Page 255 BOX 21: Establishing Rapport......Page 259 Recording and Transcribing......Page 260 Ralph’s Sports Bar, Cindie Marshall (Student Project)......Page 264 BOX 22: Analyzing Your Interviewing Skills......Page 272 The Informant’s Perspective: An Anthropologist on Mars......Page 274 An Anthropologist on Mars, Oliver Sacks......Page 275 Gathering Family Stories......Page 279 BOX 23: Writing a Family Story......Page 280 One Family Story: The Core and Its Variants......Page 282 Gathering Oral Histories......Page 285 Taking Care, Nancy Hauserman......Page 287 Listening Is an Act of Love, Dave Isay......Page 290 I Can Read, I Can Write, Jennette Edwards (Online Only)......Page 26 BOX 24: Starting an Oral History......Page 291 FieldWriting: Using Character, Setting, and Theme to Create a Portrait......Page 294 BOX 25: Writing a Verbal Portrait (by Jennifer S. Cook)......Page 296 The Research Portfolio: Reflective Documentation......Page 298 DO THIS: Reflect on Researching People......Page 300 Chapter 6: Researching Language: The Cultural Translator......Page 301 Linking Body Language and Culture......Page 302 BOX 26: Observing Body Language (by Amie Ohlmenn)......Page 304 Cheek, Lafcadio Hearn......Page 306 BOX 27: Listening for Words: Creating a Glossary......Page 309 Using Insider Language in Your Writing......Page 311 Words as Cultural Artifacts......Page 312 Researching Occupation: Recording Insider Language......Page 320 BOX 28: Describing Occupational Terms......Page 321 Verbal Performance: Curses......Page 323 BOX 29: Gathering Verbal Performances: Proverbs, Jokes, and Sayings......Page 325 Being a Cultural Translator......Page 327 A Language Journey, Ofelia Zepeda......Page 328 FieldWriting: Dialogue on the Page......Page 335 The Research Portfolio: Synthesis......Page 337 DO THIS: Translate Culture......Page 340 Chapter 7 Researching Archives: Locating Culture......Page 341 Everything, Perfectly, Forever, A. Kendra Greene (Student Project)......Page 344 Family Archives......Page 347 Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball......Page 350 BOX 30: A Box about Boxes......Page 354 Historical Archives......Page 355 University Archives......Page 357 Museum Archives......Page 358 BOX 31: Sorting through Public Archives......Page 360 The Attic and Its Nails, Naomi Shihab Nye (Poem)......Page 362 Organizing Archival Material......Page 363 Alternative Archives......Page 365 On Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner......Page 366 BOX 32: Alternative Archives (by Deidre Hall)......Page 371 Electronic Archives: Using the Internet......Page 373 FieldWriting: Annotated Bibliographies......Page 375 The Research Portfolio: Representing the Unflat Stuff......Page 377 DO THIS: Search the FieldWorking Archives......Page 379 Chapter 8: FieldWriting: From Down Draft to Up Draft......Page 381 Drafting Drafts......Page 383 Shitty First Drafts, Anne Lamott......Page 384 Questioning Your Draft......Page 388 Thickening Your Draft......Page 391 BOX 33: Listening to the Voices in Your Draft (by David Seitz)......Page 397 Representing Culture in Your Fieldwriting......Page 399 Disability Is Beautiful, William Harvey Purcell......Page 401 FieldWriting: Analytic Section Headings......Page 409 Some Notes on Revision, Donald M. Murray......Page 411 BOX 34: Sharing Data: Partners in Revision......Page 413 The Research Portfolio: One-Page Analysis and Annotated Table of Contents......Page 415 A Final Comment: Paying Attention to Writing......Page 418 DO THIS: Smooth Your Final Draft......Page 420 Appendix A: MLA Documentation Guidelines......Page 421 Appendix B: APA Documentation Guidelines......Page 431 Appendix C: Works Cited and Recommended Readings......Page 439 Glossary......Page 445 Credits......Page 449 Index......Page 451 FieldWorking, Bonnie Stone Sunstein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater's acclaimed textbook, is an engaging guide to the fundamentals of ethnographic study, complete with practical help for research and writing. Emphasizing civic responsibility and community engagement, FieldWorking incorporates examples by professionals writers such as Mark Singer, Pico Iyer, Joan Didion, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as student research projects on topics as diverse as a local truck stop, dinner clubs, blogging, and a horse sales barn, to help students identify and define their own subcultures and communities. Because students are connected to their research, FieldWorking's ethnographic approach makes projects fascinating and empowering for all students as they learn to observe, listen, interpret, analyze, and write about the people and artifacts around them "This acclaimed text incorporates examples by professional writers such as Peter Elbow, Joan Didion, Oliver Sacks, and Jamaica Kincaid, as well as student research projects on communities as diverse a truck stop, sports bar, homeless shelter, and horse sales barn, to help students identify and define their own subcultures and communities. In unique activities and comprehensive instruction, FieldWorking presents an ethnographic approach that empowers students to observe, listen, interpret, analyze, and write about the people and artifacts around them, while learning the essentials of college writing and research. FieldWorking is suitable for courses in English, anthropology, cultural studies, journalism, or in any discipline where research is required."--Site web de l'éditeur A fun and practical guide to research and writing, FieldWorking includes examples by professional writers such as Peter Elbow and Joan Didion alongside student research projects on communities to help empower you to observe, listen, interpret, analyze, and write about the people and artifacts around you.