Through the lens of some other person or people, you should explore a culture or subculture unfamiliar to you and report your findings in a narrative Essay.
Pre-Covid options for ethnographic assignments were almost unlimited. Students went to concerts or fish-bakes. They tried dumplings from various food trucks around town (I suppose this could still be done, given the proper protocols). They went to gun ranges, sat Shiva, interviewed survivors of all kinds and stripes…
The assignment might seem more difficult now. But it isn’t. Whereas before you might have explored a culture through a physical place, you might now explore a neighbor or ‘friend’ from a place or culture (or with a background) you are not yet familiar with.
This assignment is designed to provide you experience with interviewing, gathering information from primary sources, and establishing a framework for finding a story/theme (as opposed to beginning with one). In this sense, you must start early in order to discover what your writing will really be about!
Over the next weeks we’ll read plenty of examples of how to approach and execute your essays. But what’s important now is to start brainstorming.
Here’s an overview of ethnographic profiles I’ve seen in the past:
Stories of/relating to…
–rave/ jamband culture
–addiction/recovery
–coming out
–food culture(s)
–religion
–dog trainers
–divorce/family struggles/ mental health
–war/PTSD/military service
–border-crossings/immigrant experience
–restaurant work
–cultural movements
–gaming
–cult experiences
–emerging musical movements
