Monday, October 15, 2007

2 weeks to go!

Right now it's hard to believe that I'll be in Africa two weeks from now. I've been doing a lot of reading, about Ethiopia and about Ethnography.


To some extent, you can't learn how to do ethnography by reading about it, but I have learned a lot by reading The Ethnographic Interview by James Spradley. The Ethnographic Interview

He actually has a step by step method, and breaks down different types of questions to ask. Another good one was Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. I also liked parts of The Professional Stranger, by Agar, who is really good about putting humor into his writing.

Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)The Professional Stranger: An Informal Introduction to Ethnography

My biggest concern right now is that I just won't have enough time to do everything I want to do in Africa. I wish I could stay for an entire year. However, I'm going to do the best I can with the time I have, and I am excited about the opportunity to learn about another culture.

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