Week 15

I feel that my writing has definitely improved of the course of this semester. One of the differences that I notice in my writing, is that when our research is required I handle it much better than in the past. It also helps that our first drafts are read thoroughly and given a lot of constructive criticizim before our final draft is due. Most of my previous classes have had me write drafts also, however, they were more as a attempt to progress our writing projects rather than as a chance to reform our writing. The only assignment that was somewhat difficult to do was the literature review, mainly because I’ve never written one before so it came across as new and somewhat difficult. As far as I’m concerned I thought that the class was well taught and well balanced.

Week 14

My favorite data source for my mini ethnography is a combination of interviews and observations provided from my informants. These are my favorite pieces of data because you learn more about the culture on a personal level. You develop a more personal relationship with your sources, which in turn allows you to dive deeper into their minds than straight statistical data would allow. Though previous scientific research is the majority (or at least the base) backing my findings, you learn more intricate details and some startling facts about your sub-culture. It takes a bit more work to wade through the mirages that appear through some of your observations (fronts that individuals put up), however, these “mirages” are also valid pieces of information. Also, when you do develop inter-personal relationships with you informants it makes it MUCH more difficult to look at the data objectively. But, that challenging aspect of gathering the information may be why I enjoy it the most.

week 13

WHAM!! Out of the corner of my eye I see one of my best friends Josh crash into two metal garbage cans outside at a weekend party. Out of instinct, I immediately fly to my left in the assailant’s direction, near the side of the grey vinyl house. As I reach the culprit I draw back my fist ready to swing. “WHOA WHOA!” screams the perpetrator, as I come to a halt, breathing heavily, fist still drawn. “Nick?” I ask. . . He responds with a distinct surprised/startled “Farmer?” I had just realized that the “culprit” was also one of my and Josh’s best friends. Apparently, Nick had jokingly shoved Josh after he had teased him about a past girlfriend. Josh, slightly flustered pushed back a little too hard. In retaliation/displaying dominance, Nick heaved Josh; losing his balance Josh tripped over a weed ridden gutter and smashed into the garbage bins spilling debris everywhere.
We laugh now, but this was a typical case for white, adolescent, males attending a party. They had just finished playing Beer Pong (a drinking based ping pong game involving eliminating cups of beer), and were swapping stories with a group of peers they had just met (including several attractive women). After our ethnography project was assigned, I sat down with them individually about this incident to hear their explanation. Nick didn’t even recall at the start of my inquiry; however, after describing the begging and place of the event he remembered. Basically, Nick felt he was in titled to retaliate, and Josh’s slight humility at the party was his own doing. “Well, he shouldn’t have made me look like an ass with the girl friend comment” he says smiling and shrugging his shoulders.
In my research, Mini Stark’s evidence stated that Caucasian adolescent males get physically aggressive while drinking (especially with friends) 13% MORE than any other race, while in college. In our shared opinions, this has a vast amount to do with male dominance and its importance relating to social networking.

week 12

My definition of rhetoric is the way someone communicates, usually a grandiose or extravagant style of speech and vocabulary. It can also mean the way a person intends their speech to persuade someone (whether it be giving off a tough, high-class, calm ect. exterior) one way or another. I believe that the appearance that someone has, the way they act/carry themselves, ect. also has an effect on rhetoric. Though I don’t hear it frequently, this word is most widely used in the media. Generally, it has a positive or neutral connotation. My sub-culture is quite broad (as far as different types of people), so I don’t believe that there is one specific rhetoric that everyone could have. In my miniature ethnography, I could utilize rhetoric by presenting myself as a well informed college student that is the “norm” for the culture I am studying (Thus persuading my audience that I actually have valid points and know wht the hell I’m talking about). I can also use my interviews in terms of persuasion.

post 10

In the intro of my ethnography, I plan on making it feel as if my reader is hanging out in the dorm room. I plan on going around the room and give detailed descriptions of all my informants. I want the paper to feel like a “typical” college movie in the beginning. In the body of my paper I plan to talk about my place in the sub-culture, as well as my main points of interest: sex habits, drinking habits, party/social life, and net working (subject to change). I will quite possibly write it in this order (but who knows as of now). I plan to conclude my paper with a shortened summary of the entire paper and my thesis statement. I would also add in some overview points such as the white male and the greater potential power that they may be granted. I think that writing this paper in individual sections will best fit. There really isn’t a smooth way I can think of to do the transitions if I write it chronologically.

Week 8

The main theme that I see that takes priority over others in my sub culture is the theme of social life. Maybe not in the traditional sense of social status (being popular and what not), but more along the lines of finding a niche. Now this is usually a theme that ALL people of all ages struggle with for a very long time. However; for my sub-culture, it is a bit different. Young white males are looked at differently than most any other culture I have seen. We have more pressure to excel, and when we don’t, it is a total slap in the face to those that raised us or are even closely involved in our lives.
This theme does run through my field sites. In fact, this is probably where this issue is the most rampant. In the dorms, men struggle to find peers that they “fit with”. It is a constant struggle of musical chairs, and hopefully I can address this more in our mini ethnography.
I feel that my postion has stayed the same through out our ventures.

I think that through the study of my sub-culture (white freshman male), I will be able to disprove many stereotypes about them. I feel that research is needed in this area, because this is one of the most judged cultures all over the world. White males – historically speaking- have the most power in the world. After this study, I should be able to present a balanced case of why they act and function the way they do, pros and cons of their behavior, and which type of subject performs the best in college/later life (socially).

box 18

The focal point for my research is the dorm. To be more specific, the dorms of a select few that I have deemed leaders of larger groups of white males. These few rooms are found in Stu west 854 and La Folatte 321. From these dorm rooms, I can see how several of my informants interact with each other more closely than I could everywhere else. The dorms serve as a haven/hangout for the majority of my sub-culture. I can gather my information fairly discretely here even in the close quarters. I can do this because most of the time there is some kind of activity taking place; whether it is a video game, YouTube video, of someone telling a story. The dorms are generally rectangle rooms (Johnson is the only exception that I have seen) and very compact spaces for two people to live. As I have stated, the dorm is a haven for my sub-culture. I feel like my dorm is my “new home”. I am very familiar with every inch of my new living quarters, because of this familiarity; it brings me comfort and security. Through some of my research and more so my life experience at BSU I strongly feel that this applies to majority of my sub-culture.

week 5

My plan for finishing my miniature ethnography is to start recording more about the daily life of some of my informers. I don’t believe that I need to research more about my sub-culture. I feel that I have done enough research for the time being. I possibly may search out more professional sources, rather than the majority of informants and personal observations I have taken already. I also intend to research the weekend life of my culture more. I have attempted to do this at social scenes, such as sporting events and parties. However, “some how”, I always seem to get side tracked and caught up in the scene, rather than being a formal researcher. Obviously, I intend to perform more formal observations. Really studying on how people from my sub-culture interacting with other members of society (especially those of the opposite sex). Questions that I have for you professor, include those along the lines of how to; organize ideas and observations, style of writing (genera) that my ethnography is best suited for, and whether or not to use the information that I have gathered from my close friends – if so, how much.

Box 15

When I think of a place that brings several sensory details to memory, I drift back to my favorite campsite. All throughout high school, my best friends and I would sneak off every chance we could get to run down behind the school’s cross country track. We originally fell in love with the lush creek valley because of its deep, crystal clear water and its great fishing. Eventually, it became our regular spot for camping and any other activity we possibly create to steal a moment at our sacred spot. We cutout part of the hill side, covered with beautiful wild flowers, ferns, and colossal trees scattered about. We put huge stone steps, covered in thick damp moss, (massive creek rocks we retrieved no less than ten feet away) in for a homier touch. We also created a large circular fire pit, made of smaller round stones found in the creek. I have never slept better ANYWHERE than that clearing by the creek. Perhaps, it was because of the cool water running peacefully over the rocks, giving off that relaxing, trickling sound. Or possibly, it was from the warm fire crackling, providing the comforting aroma of smoking hickory trees.
Possibly my favorite memories (although I have hundreds), was when one of my best Devon Hottel would break out his guitar and play for us. Whenever we could conjure him into doing it for us, we would celebrate by breaking into cheap cigars and smuggled beer we managed to get a hold of somehow. Some times Devon sang solo (he had an amazing voice), but more often than not we would break out together, belting out our favorite Tom Petty and Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. The cool night air was filled with our happy melody smoke, and the occasional crack of cans. Every time I think back on those fond memories, it seems like the forest is alive and happy to have us. An aura of euphoria surrounded us. We just loved to be in each others company.

week 3

My sub-culture that I am exploring is the freshman male at ball state. So naturally, from interacting with my friends and peers daily, I immerse myself in this culture. However, formally I have interviewed several of my colleges, some of which are not people I see frequently. Last weekend, I sat down with one of my close friends Jeremy, to attempt my first interview. It went rather smoothly, we were both just hanging out in his dorm room playing rock band and eating day old pizza. I ran through some questions with him, such as “so run through a typical day with me. What do you do, how long, where do you spend most of your time, and what do you think about college life in general, ECT.” He whipped off the answers to me. Most of which I expected (mostly because I am with him most of the time), however, there were some that caught me off guard. When I asked him about his and most other freshman’s love life, he seemed to be caught off guard, then answered with a smirk saying, “well, I can’t say that it’s all that older people made it cracked up to be.” The reason this caught me off guard, is because Jeremy and I spent the first semester studying “anatomy” and “social studies” rather than our academics. After I finished interviewing Jeremy, his response to my love life question stuck with me. I immediately started asking around with the rest of my friends. I was almost all struck when the majority of them replied with similar answers. It turns out, that contrary to popular belief; most freshmen males aren’t looking for as many one night stands as possible.
Next on the list, was to observe the field site. This is where we as ethnographers are supposed to step outside our usual comfort zone, and look from an outsider’s point of view. Unfortunately, looking into greater detail at a boy’s dorm room can get a little scary. As I stepped into one of my classmate’s dorm room, it seems to fit the regular description of a boy’s living quarters. Clothes are scattered about in heaps on the floor, trash overflowing onto the floor, unmade bed with little but a pillow covering it, and Adam sitting in the middle of it all playing Call Of Duty on his X Box. “Grab a seat man” as he knocks off a pile of dirty clothes uncovering a chair hidden from view before. Before I started this project, none of this would faze me at all; however, now that I have forced myself to open my eyes, walking into a dorm almost sends chills up my spine. After I finished my session with Adam, I went immediately back to my own dorm, and proceeded to clean it thoroughly.
I have attempted to research my sub-culture, but generally, it is unsuccessful. I feel that the difference between academic and non-academic research is, that with academic, you look up a formal source from something that already is in existence. Things like books and magazine articles can be “academically” researched. Non-academic research is research that you perform interviews and taking field notes fall under this category.

Week 2

Being a freshman male at BSU, I continuously wonder why myself and my fellow peers do things the way we due. So I thought, “If I have to do this assignment, why not do it on something that I’m interested in.” I should have a fairly substantial advantage, because I fit the criteria for the subculture I want to investigate. On the same hand though it could prove to be a disadvantage if I can’t open my eyes to see more than what I normally perceive. I feel that the best place to perform my field work would be in the dorm complexes (dorm rooms, study areas, lounges, and food courts). Also, I think that going to sports complexes and concerts could help to provide broader evidence for the study. In the dorms I expect to find messy, cluttered rooms. They’ll probably smell and have half eaten food strewn about.

week 2 box 2

I spend countless hours of my time torturing myself for something that is supposed to be "fun". After school every day, I sprint down to a designated spot where 50 young men confine themselves in a ridiculously hot and vile smelling room. In that room we strap on amour constricting and heavy, preparing for battle. We then run a half mile in the blazing sun and bone chilling cold only to reach another torturous area. On this field of sparse rough grass and compacted dirt as hard as concrete, we punish our bodies. We are then forced to bash and beat upon our friends and peers. The Dictating figure is a short middle-aged man who is thirty pounds to heavy for his body. Any one of the strong males he condemns to this relentless anguish could easily end. We endure these harsh criticisms and commands so that once every Friday night for about twelve months in the fall, we can attempt to bring glory and honor to our community.

week 1

Before we get started, there is something you have to know about me. I’m a “sports-aholic”, and what better to write about than one of my favorite papers ever, A Football Story. Cheesy, I know, however, it doesn’t make me any less passionate about the topic.
I wrote this paper last term in 103, and I was just begging to ENJOY writing. It came much easier than I expected, when my brilliant teacher Miss Yuan Yuan Liao suggested to me that I write what inspires me. Now this was a creative peace, but it did require a little bit of research to make it chronologically correct.
I started off excited and bold about finally being able to write what I wanted. However, my excitement quickly turned to dismay whenever I hit writers block around page three of a five to six page paper. So I went back to Prof. Liao for a little bit of guidance, and before long I had a fairly well planned outline-if I do say so myself.
After my conference with the professor, it was write back to writing. Feeling rejuvenated, I cranked the J-Z and went to work. Unfortunately, I only had a two days until the final draft, but I was confident in my new found vigor. I worked on the paper relentlessly for about three hours just churning out the pages, and before I knew it, I was done; Or so I thought.
I immediatley took the paper to one of my most dear (and coincidentaley most intelligent) friends Nick Wiggins. After a moment of glancing at it, to my dismay, he began to grin slightly. When Nick grins at anything other than a comedian, it is his “polite” way of saying, “WOW, this sucks”. After a few more moments his grin subsided into a slight nod. Afterward he explained to me that the content of my paper was fantastic, however, it gramatically stunk.
With a short time with Nick and his keen I for his best friends idiocy, he kindly helped me to edit my paper. And after I switched a paragraph or two around, I was finished with my final revision. I walked away with a great paper, not to mention and A.