Answer the questions
When it comes to culture, we are like fish in water. Because we’re so deeply immersed in it, we may not really see it. When culture becomes something we take for granted, we lose sight of what’s distinctive or different about it. One of the best ways to “see” culture is to approach it as an outsider, or as someone who is learning about it for the first time. Even if it’s a culture to which you’ve belonged your entire life, you can always act as if you are a new member trying to understand your group. In any event, to better appreciate culture you’ll need to suspend your ethnocentrism and practice cultural relativism. In this Data Workshop, you will be examining a cultural group to which you belong. As someone living in a diverse, modern society, you are likely to belong to many cultural groups. You’ll be doing some “participant observation research” in a setting (and taking field notes), focusing on various components of material and symbolic culture that help to define your group. At the same time you’ll be reflecting on your own membership in the group, and writing a short auto-ethnography about it. Refer to the section in Chapter 2 on participant observation/ethnographic research methods for a review before conducting your study. Here is what you need to do:
Step 1: Choosing Your Cultural Group Begin by choosing a culture to examine. There are numerous possibilities. You could choose an ethnic group ( such African American, Samoan), a nationality (such as Mexican or Swedish), a religion (such as Catholic or Muslim), an occupation (such as a server or parking valet), a sports team or club (such as intramural Soccer or student government), or an interest or hobby (such as video gaming or crafting). With so many from which to choose, the most important thing is to select one that gives you plenty of material to work with and that you belong to.
1- What cultural group will you be focusing on and why?
2- In your own words, explain what you need to do to complete the data workshop.
