Description
(I pretty much need to relate my field work to the ideas of the 3 class readings I attacked. I will attack my journal of my field work and in YELLOW highlight I put in some way I can relate to what I saw in the performance to the class reading but I need help on expanding It to 8 pages. I also attacked the noted the professor provide on how he wants the research paper done.) THANK YOU !
Final Research Project: Ethnography of a Performance
An important insight that has emerged from the cross-disciplinary field of performance studies is that the meaning and function of a performance—what is said and done in a performance setting, be it a water temple in Bali or an anthropology class at UCSD—is contingent upon when, where, to whom, by whom, in what way, and for what purpose it is said and done.
For your final research project (7-8 pages, double-spaced), you will be asked to apply this insight to a ‘performance’—any behavior, activity, practice, or event—of your choice. After deciding on a performance to write about, you will begin ethnographic fieldwork in your chosen field site, in order to describe the who, when, where, why, and how of the performance. In the course of your research, you will participate in and observe the performance; write field notes based on direct observation; interview relevant participants; and, where possible, make audio and video recordings, to aid you later in the writing process. All these materials—your fieldnotes, transcribed interviews, descriptions based on AV recordings—will be compiled in a ‘performance journal’ .
( will send you my field notes and journal to use for context)
With your performance journal in hand, you will be in a position to put your ethnographic data in conversation with one (or more) of the anthropological texts we have encountered this quarter. In coming up with a specific, compelling, and contestable thesis for your ethnographic writing project, you will be asked to reflect on the following two questions:
- In what ways did your knowledge of anthropological theory, gleaned from our class readings and discussions, help you understand the significance of the performance about which you are writing? [how is your data similar to the concepts/texts we have studied?]
- In what ways did your ethnographic fieldwork—your observations, experiences, and conversations with people in your field site—expand, or even contradict, what you learned from our class readings and discussions? [how is your data different from the concepts/texts we have studied?]
You must engage with at least THREE scholarly sources in your essay, which will
require original library research. I will meet with you to help you refine your ideas along the way. Your essay will go through multiple drafts, and you will be evaluated on each step along the way to the final product. For this assignment, you will be required to include in-text citations as well as a correctly formatted bibliography. We will discuss all necessary citation practices in class.
In addition:
—Submit your essay as a Word document, with your name and contact information
—Use 12-point font
—Include page numbers
—Double-space all drafts
—Provide your essay with a title