Part 1Exercise: Using some of the tools identified by Emers

Part 1

Exercise: Using some of the tools identified by Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw in Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (1995), conduct 30 minutes of participant-observation in some kind of public space on campus. It could be a place where you frequent already in your daily rounds, or somewhere new. It needs to be a social context where you will be able to freely observe other people -without interacting with them. This exercise is intended for you to focus on people-watching or observation and taking notes about your observation of the social context – Who are you watching? Where are you? What are people doing? Why do you think they are doing what you are witnessing? Pay attention to both ‘jotting’ down words or phrases that describe what you are experiencing, while also including more descriptive accounts of the social behavior or activity you witness. Feel free to draw or sketch the setting as well. Scan your notes or sketches to submit along with the written reflection below.

Part 2

Written reflection (1 page, single spaced): In this journal entry, then revisit your fieldnotes and create a narrative of the place, time, and people you observed. Identify which methods of ethnographic writing or note taking that Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw discuss in the reading and why you chose those techniques. Was there anything that surprised you? What do your fieldnotes say about the observational setting? What was included in your notes and what was left out? What may have been some inherent biases you bring to this ethnographic encounter? What are some limitations of your observation, given that you did not actively participate with other people in the setting? What information might you have gained had you interacted with other people?