Professional Documents
Culture Documents
wp2 Rubric
wp2 Rubric
wp2 Rubric
BackgroundandOverview
ForWritingProject1,youexaminedaritual,practice,behavior,orhabit(whatwewillgenericallyrefertoas
aculturalphenomenon)inyourpersonallifetobetterunderstandyourculturalidentity,relyingonthe
conventionsofautoethnographytowriteaboutitfromafirstpersonperspective.Inmanyways,youcrafted
anarrative(orstory)thatexplainedhowandwhythisculturalphenomenondefinedwhoyouareasan
individual.
ForWritingProject2,wearegoingtoaskyoutolookbeyondyourownidentitytotheidentityofalarger
culturalgrouporcommunitytowhichyoubelong.Weareallapartofmultiple,different,sometimeseven
contradictoryculturalgroupsorcommunities:throughourfamilies,wemightbeconnectedtoaspecific
ethnicorracialcommunity;ourreligionmightconnectustoanothercommunity;themusicwelistento
mightconnectustoanothergroup;sportsactivitiesmightconnectustoyetanothercommunity.This
assignmentasksyoutochooseoneofthesegroupsorcommunitiestowhichyoubelongandtoinvestigate
it.
Youwillinvestigatethisgrouporcommunityinordertoinformothersaboutwhatthesecultural
phenomenasuggestaboutthecommunityanditsvalues,beliefs,andpractices.Thiswillgiveyouandyour
readersgreaterinsightintohowthegrouporcommunityunderstandsanddefinesitsownidentity.Asan
insider,youmaythinkyoualreadyknowyourcommunitywell.However,oneofthegoalsoftheprojectisto
challengeyourownpreconceptionsandreflectmoredeeplyonwhatdefinesthisgroup.Tothisend,youwill
engageinresearchasaparticipantobserver,meaningyouwillengageinprimaryresearchinterviews,
observations,andfieldnotestounderstandthisculturalphenomenonfromtheinsideout.
RequirementsandDeliverables
1.
Inyouressay,youshouldincludeanarrativestructurethattellsthestoryofhowyouconducted
yourresearch.
2.
Youshouldsummarize,explain,anddiscusstheresultsofyourclose,detailedobservationsand
fieldnotesinawaythatisunderstandabletoyourreaders.
3.
Youshouldalsosummarize,explain,anddiscusstheresultsofyourinterview(s).
4.
Drawinguponyourobservations,fieldnotes,andinterviewmaterials,youressayshouldpresent
yourreflectionsandinsightsonthecommunityorgroupyouhaveresearched.Yourprimaryinsight
shouldderivefromyoursynthesisofthedatayouhaveaccumulated:yourobservations,fieldnotes,
andinterviewmaterials.Youshoulddiscussthismaterialatlength,explaininghowitsupportsor
framesyourinsight,whatitsuggestsabouttheroleofspecificbeliefs,values,andpracticesindefining
thecommunity,anddrawingconclusionsaboutwhyandhowthecommunitydefinesitself.
5.
Youressayshouldbeorganizedinsuchawaythatareadercanfollowyourthinkingandreasoning
fromparagraphtoparagraphandwithineachparagraph.Yourprimaryinsightshouldhelptostructure
theessayforthereader.
6.
Yourcompletedessayshouldhaveatitleandbeapproximately1700wordsinlength.
ProjectSubmission
RoughDraft:Yourroughdraftwillbesubmittedforpeerreviewandtoyoureportfolio.
RevisedDraft:Yourreviseddraftshouldbeuploadedtoyoureportfolio.
Tips
Getstartedearly.
Reviewthisweeksmaterialsanddiscussions.
Setawriting/researchscheduleandsticktoit.