Ethnographic Essay The Boston Common Park - 1033 Words

Introduction It is fascinating to observe social interactions in a large place. More importantly, analyzing how people interact on grounds of social stratification, power, wealth, prestige, ascribed status, and achieved status. Last weekend, I visited Boston Common Park to purposely observe how people are interacting with one another. I was equipped with a notebook to jot down some important observations in light of the aforementioned elements of social interaction. My interest was drawn towards a wedding being officiated at this venue with people coming from diverse backgrounds being present at the venue. This event provided the perfect scene for identifying various ethnographic phenomena. Observation and Analysis The Boston Common Park†¦show more content†¦This way, I would be able to silently observe and interact with those present at the event. My initial focus was the master of ceremony who was a Black-American. I saw that whenever he was welcoming guest, his interaction was socially stratified. First, whenever he greeted White people, he showed more interest and provided a strong grip. Some who appeared to have expensive apparel were treated with modesty and even led to their reserved seats while those who appeared to be casually dressed were casually greeted and asked to find a place to seat. In this scenario, I found two ethnographic characteristics in play. First, the event manager used social stratification as a mode to segregate guests. Those who were perceived to be wealthy had their seats reserved in front of the rest. These reserved seats had their names on them and marked as reserved. This showed that people who had amassed wealth received prestigious welcome and treatment. It was not clear to me whether the wealth status accorded to these individuals was based on achieved status or scribed status. However, to de mystify this confusion, I engaged visitors participants present at the event to identify the social status of those classified as under high caliber guests. From the intonation of those I interviewed, I could tell that the concept of social stratification wasShow MoreRelatedMethods of Qualitative of Data Collection19658 Words   |  79 PagesShe has formatted the notes from the interview to provide space for her comments, as did O’Hearn-Curran in the field notes presented in Figure 4.1. In addition to generic in-depth interviewing, there are several more specialized forms, including ethnographic interviewing, phenomenological interviewing, elite interviewing, focus-group interviewing, and interviewing children. We now describe each of these methods briefly. 04-Marshall-4864.qxd 2/1/2006 3:16 PM Page 103 Data Collection Methods FigureRead MoreSymbolic Interactionism George Simmel Jacqueline Low10230 Words   |  41 Pageswork concerns topics related to conflict and social disorder such as student riots and labor strife (Blumer 1937, 1947, 1958, 1969b, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1988d). As he concluded in one manuscript, â€Å"The clash of group interests in our society is so common that to cite even a few makes me feel like I am padding my paper† (Blumer 1988c:315). THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY Mead and Blumer again diverge, and Blumer and Simmel converge, in terms of how they each understand the relationshipRead MoreWhy Ability Assessments Dont Cross Cultures10050 Words   |  41 Pagestest participants from a minority or less powerful group, using tests that originated in the dominant culture. In other words, one can cross cultures within a society, as well as between societies. This kind of cross-cultural testing, increasingly common with rising numbers of immigrants in the United States, also assumes that y o u can take it with you. The practice of taking ability tests across cultures for utilitarian reasons depends on the same set of assumptions that are made in cross-culturalRead MoreExample Research: Critical Discourse Analysis9514 Words   |  39 Pagesabove, there are many types of CDA, and these may be theoretically and analytically quite diverse. Critical analysis of conversation is very different from an analysis of news reports in the press or of lessons and teaching at school. Yet, given the common perspective and the general aims of CDA, we may also find overall conceptual and theoretical frameworks that are closely related. As suggested, most kinds of CDA will ask questions about the way specific 354 Teun A. van Dijk discourse structuresRead MoreHegemony and Discourse : Negotiating Cultural Relationships Through Media Production8970 Words   |  36 Pagesflesh out the theoretical perspectives of Gramsci and Stuart Hall. To gain answers to these questions as shaped by the theoretical issues outlined here, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Igloolik and other Arctic sites for six weeks in 1997 and again for nine months in 1998–99. The research procedure I followed is standard for ethnographic endeavours. I interviewed each of the Inuit videographers involved repeatedly and in great depth, taping and transcribing the interviews and discussing my findingsRead MoreWorkers Playtime?: Boundaries and Cynicism in a Culture of Fun Program10325 Words   |  42 Pagesnonhierarchical system of management reportedly generated a sense of playfulness and enthusiastic â€Å"fooling around† that eventually rubbed off on customers. Signs such as â€Å"This is a playgroundâ €”watchout for adult children† (Lundin et al., 2000, p. 88) were common features, as were other institutionalized rituals such as joke-of-the-month contests, bright color schemes, and games. As Collinson (1988, 2002) and Martin (2001) demonstrated, humor appears to feature in a good deal of the cultures of fun literatureRead MoreMuseums Essays10752 Words   |  44 PagesAlexandria, as it is now known, was dedicated primarily to learning and attracted the finest scholars in science, philosophy, literature, and art. The community included apartments, a dining hall, lecture hall, cloister, botanical garden, zoological park, and astronomical observatory. Objects such as surgical and astronomical instruments, animal hides, elephant tusks, statues, and portrait busts were also housed there and used for teaching. The famous library of Alexandria was part of the museum andRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesprimary data on the movement but to analyze and re-analyze the growing body of scholarly and popular literature on the movement, including sociological and anthropological studies, biographies, monographs, dissertations, published and unpublished essays, and periodical articles. Archival sources, such as newspaper reports, policy statements, pamphlets, and organization manuals have also provided useful information. Chapter 1 reviews and reï ¬ nes Webers theory of charisma and routinization, usingRead MoreArt as an Embodied Imagination22095 Words   |  89 Pages(each jump may result in an injury). As Arnould (1998, p. 111) observes, Celsi et al. (1993) had themselves taken up skydiving, so their representation of it reï ¬â€šects lived experience in the phenomenological sense. Arnould (1998) calls this type of ethnographic writing â€Å"thick inscription†Ã¢â‚¬â€one informed by a phenomenological approach in which the participant is also native. Unlike skydiving, water rafting does not demand extraordinary individual effort, but it does require teamwork, ultimately culminatingRead MoreArt as an Embodied Imagination22095 Words   |  89 Pages(each jump may result in an injury). As Arnould (1998, p. 111) observes, Celsi et al. (1993) had themselves taken up skydiving, so their representation of it reï ¬â€šects lived experience in the phenomenological sense. Arnould (1998) calls this type of ethnographic writing â€Å"thick inscription†Ã¢â‚¬â€one informed by a phenomenological approach in which the participant is also native. Unlike skydiving, water rafting does not demand extraordinary individual effort, but it does require teamwork, ultimately culminating