Ethnography

ETHNOGRAPHY
This week’s reading looked into ethnography.

As a whole, the notion of ethnography is foreign to me. I find it interesting that there is so little preparation involved, that the ethnographer is supposed to simply find a story or a angle as they go, rather than plan out what the focus should be beforehand. The education system in the UK has been reinforcing for generations that preparation is key to success, yet ethnography stands as an intellectual exception.

When one thinks about studying a people, one jumps to find a narrative. What is so unique about ethnography is that it doesn’t strive to find ways to connect and find similarities with people, it studies people in a scientific way. When reading about ethnography one automatically assumes the mindset of an ethnographer, however this week’s reading also made me question what it would be like to be the subject of an ethnographer’s study. How long would it take before their presence was no longer a distraction and could be easily ignored?

I would be interested to learn more about specific ethnographers and the work they have done in their fields. Having been born and raised in London, the idea of living in a different culture for any extended amount of time is quietly daunting. With the study abroad options available to me at Coventry I think it is something I would like to try myself.

This week’s reading made me think of a lecture from last term where we looked at 'othering'. I think it would be quite difficult as an ethnographer to feel impartial when in a completely different setting, one would feel like an outcast. I suppose that is what makes ethnography effective, the ability to spot differences from what is the norm to you and explore in further depth.

What is Research?

In what he called ‘perspectivism’, Nietzsche suggested ‘we cannot know facts, only perspectives on things. There is no limit to the ways the world can be interpreted. 

If I’m in a really good mood, I might perceive everyone else around me to also be in a good mood. It was found that you project the mood of the music you listen to onto the people in the same space as you- would listening to multiple different kinds of music in a short space of time influence the way your brain works, possibly making you more perceptive to more people’s feelings?

I found the ‘Overt and covert oppositions’ really interesting. The differences between generations never ceases to intrigue me, but to stack the old and the young against each other in such a stark manner was particularly eye opening. It seems that in progressing and evolving towards their own future, the youth of Japan are pushing away their heritage and ancestral lineage in favour of a more business-like approach to life: pushing aside sentimentality and courtesy in favour of pertinence and assertiveness. This section made me think about my future in comparison to my parent’s futures when they were my age. My parents instilled in me a love for the music of their youth, which connects us on a superficial level. My sister does not carry this affinity for their music, which makes them more similar. The three of them rejected their parent’s music, whereas I assimilated, the oppositional barriers casting me aside.

The ‘five different aspects of communication’ was really interesting. We can all apply these to our own lives and how we interact with people in different settings and levels of acquaintance. This section made me think of a line from The Great Gatsby, ”I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”