Writing Assignment 1 Self-Ethnography & Analysis of an Unfamiliar Space (5-8 pp.)
Description of Assignment Goals An ethnography is a piece of writing that describes a particular group, community or subculture (this genre of writing is most common in Anthropology, though other fields also perform ethnographic writing). Self-ethnography asks you to analyze yourself in relation to someone or something, usually a broader societal context. For this assignment, you will position yourself in an unwelcoming or unfamiliar space and aim to analyze and reflect on your own positionality and sense of belonging. Your goal with this assignment is to identify a place that you do not belong in because you do not belong to the community who inhabits the space naturally. This can be high stakes (a community that you actively don’t belong to) or low stakes (something merely unfamiliar), though the higher the stakes the more likely you’ll have something interesting to write about. The goal of you entering and inhabiting the space is to achieve productive discomfort; in other words, using your feelings of a lack of belonging, and the discomfort that results, to think through yourself and others. Note: If it’s hard to find someplace that you don’t belong, that’s something to reflect on in itself. Do note that you may need to ask permission to access the space you choose. Please be mindful of those whose space you’ll be visiting, and keep in mind that this is, at its core, an assignment aimed at self-reflection and not at describing unfamiliar actions of others. In other words, you should approach this not as a means to describe unfamiliar or “alien” others, but rather to reflect on how it feels to inhabit a space not meant for you. You are the main subject of description and analysis, not the people you’re with. Feel free to be active. Although it’s easy to think of this assignment as asking you to sit quietly and observe, you’ll likely have more success if you engage with whatever activity is going on in the space. Furthermore, if appropriate, you’re welcome to ask questions of those who are there, and include quoted dialogue in your final paper. This assignment is quite open-ended both in terms of how you approach it, what you discuss, and how you analyze your findings. This is on purpose: this assignment, different than any research-based writing you’ll be doing from here on out, challenges you to make choices as a writer in a type of writing that is likely unfamiliar to you. On every level, therefore, you should be looking to engage with your discomfort, rather than dismiss it, and to transfer skills to unfamiliar genres. Using Short Assignments 1, 2 and 3, consider the communities you are a part of and those you do not belong to. The knowledge of how you belong to certain groups can inform the types of spaces you seek out. You are welcome to borrow some of the reflection you’ve done in these assignments and/or in your weekly journals when completing this paper. Feel free to set up an appointment to meet with me to discuss brainstorming for this assignment, or to workshop a draft. Because making substantial revisions is a part of the grading in this class, remember to save original
copies of any drafts you complete, whether or not they’re for the due date. In other words, save your paper outlines, rough drafts, etc. Regardless of how you choose to set up and execute your paper, your paper should:
o Have a descriptive component: Your readers should be able to access the space you’re writing about even if they have never been there. As such, you should be showing them the space through examples and descriptive language rather than telling them about it. You should also be describing your relation to this space on similar terms: your readers don’t know you, and have no access to how you respond to this space.
o Have an analytical component: You should be walking your readers through your findings, and connecting these findings to your description. These findings can include broad reflections on how it feels to inhabit a space you don’t belong in, how the space relates to those you’re more at home in (in other words, does it fulfill a role for this community that is akin to one for yours), whether this feeling of non-belonging is common or uncommon for you and why, etc.
o Move beyond yourself: Though this assignment is, at its core, a self-reflection, you should aim to produce writing that is both accessible and appealing beyond you and those who know and care about you. How does what you’re talking about connect to a broader audience?
o Have an underlying significance: In your concluding paragraph or concluding section, you should strive to reach a broad audience most explicitly. Why does what you’re saying matter? What do you hope readers walk away with? How should your readers think about the world differently as a result of your paper?
Formatting Requirements Length: Your paper should be between 5 and 8 pages. Note that if you’re having trouble reaching the length minimum, you can add a second space to your paper. I do believe, however, that you should need 5 pages to successfully describe and analyze one space and your feelings within it, so make sure you have depth in all components if you do two spaces. Genre: The way you structure this paper, and the tone you use, is very much up to you. This paper works as a personal narrative (see examples by Clarendon and Allen, but you can also write it as a story) and as a more distanced reporting of facts (which would sound more like journalistic writing, like Gladwell). General formatting: Use size 12, Times New Roman font with 1” margins. It should have a title, and the first page should include a heading with your name, the course name and number, the instructor’s name, and the due date. The paper should have your last name and the page number in the right-hand header space. It should be stapled. Due Dates: First draft (unpolished, but complete in length) due Thursday, February 27th for workshop Note: Adding elements (conclusion, etc.) that were not in first draft does not count as revising Final draft due Thursday, March 5th in portfolio with Writer’s Memo
