ENGLISH 102
CONLEY
Unit 2 Writing Project: Ethnography as Inquiry
The culture of a people is an ensemble of text, themselves ensembles, which the anthropologist
strains to read over the shoulders of those to whom they properly belong. (p. 286)
-Clifford Geertz Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight
INTRODUCTION.
Geertz talks about “reading” a culture while peering over the shoulders of those to whom it
properly belongs. In “Deep Play,” he reads the cockfight over the shoulders of the Balinese. But
the cockfight is not a single event to be described in isolation. It is itself a “text,” one that must
be understood in context. Or, as Geertz says, the cockfight is a “Balinese reading of Balinese
experience; a story they tell themselves about themselves.”
The job of the anthropologist, Geertz says, is “formulating sociological principles, not promoting
or appreciating cockfights.” And the question for the anthropologist is this: “What does one
learn from examining culture as an assemblage of text?” Societies, he says, “like lives, contain
their own interpretations. One has only to learn how to gain access to them.” Anthropologists
are experts at gaining access to cultures and at performing this kind of complex reading. One of
the interesting things about being a student is that you get to (or you have to) act like an expert
even though, properly speaking, you are not.
ASSIGNMENT.
Write an essay in which you prepare a Geertzian reading of some part of our culture you know
well (window shopping in a mall, warming up for rugby practice, sitting in the student section of
a basketball game, whatever). With a partner from our class, you should go out and observe the
behavior you are studying, looking at the players and taking field notes about the artifacts,
language, and environment you observe. You should imagine that you are working in Geertz’s
spirit, imitating his method and style and carrying out work that he has begun.
In addition to the ethnographic dimensions of this essay, you should include research from two
scholarly sources from your annotated bibliography that help to corroborate or complicate your
observations and conclusions. You should use these scholarly sources in a responsible manner to
further develop the arguments you make about the culture you observed. In other words, you
should not report on the scholarly sources, but smoothly integrate them into your own analysis.
PLEASE NOTE: Though you will compose your annotated bibliography and observe your
chosen culture with a partner, everyone must produce a separate, distinct piece of writing.
REQUIREMENTS.
YOU MUST TURN IN YOUR FIELD NOTES WITH YOUR ESSAY
7-9 pages of text
Double spaced
Times New Roman 12 point font
American Psychological Association citations for scholarly sources
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ENG 102 SP09
GRADING CRITERIA.
The writer demonstrates careful understanding of Geertz.
The writer integrates scholarly research in a responsible, sophisticated manner.
The writer develops thick descriptions of the observed culture.
The writer engages in compelling analysis of the observed culture.
The writer demonstrates competence in mechanics and grammar.
The writer utilizes an organization scheme that complements the composition of the essay.
Your composition is due on Friday, April 10 at the beginning of class.
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ENG 102 SP09