English 10H, Mathews
Name _____________________________________
Lord of the Flies
An Ethnographic Field Study of Lord of the Flies
What is an ethnographic field study?
An ethnographic field collection is a group of materials gathered and organized by a cultural researcher to
document human life and traditions. An ethnographic field collection may bring together materials from a wide
range of formats, including sound recordings, drawings, photographs, field notes, and correspondence. Although
each item in an ethnographic field collection may have individual value, it gains added significance when viewed
in the context of the other materials gathered by the collector in interaction with the people and activities being
documented.
For example: “The fieldworker takes a photograph of a musical instrument, makes a sound recording of it being
played, and jots down notes on the recollections of a virtuoso player because the fieldworker has determined that
photographs, sound recordings, and written text must be yoked together to fully represent the performance.”
(Memo to the American Folklife Center Board of Trustees, Jan. 7, 1991)
Your Task
Working in groups of no more than three, you must assume the role of an ethnologist who is studying the island
culture described in Lord of the Flies. You will collect ten different artifacts from the culture and create an
ethnographic field collection that will be displayed in the classroom as a “Museum Exhibition.”
Requirements
You and your group will be responsible for the following:
1. A color map of the island with a legend.
2. A field notebook with a decorative cover that relates to your findings and a table of contents. This
notebook should include a listing of all your artifacts and all related information.
3. Ten “artifacts” of the civilization contained in a box of some sort.
NOTE – These artifacts must be clues to the civilization inhabiting the island in Lord of the Flies.
Information regarding the artifacts
 Ten artifacts, at least one from each of the different categories (see “What to Collect” on the back of the
handout)
 One artifact MUST be an interview transcript with one of the major characters.
 At least three different formats MUST be used with your ten artifacts. Examples:
o sound recordings
o drawings
o photographs
o letters
o video
 Each artifact must have a museum quality caption that should explain the fictional context and literary
significance of the artifact.
 A passage from Lord of the Flies must accompany each artifact. Be sure to include the page number with
the passage. This can be included in your field notebook.
 You must type the passages from Lord of the Flies, as well as any other written element of your artifacts.
The only exception to this would be if you are including letters as an artifact.
This project is due at the beginning of class on Friday, March 8th and is worth 175 points.
English 10H, Mathews
What to Collect:
Lord of the Flies
Oral Tradition and Performance
1. Spoken Word: tall tales, legends, humorous stories, beliefs, superstitions, personal experience stories,
toasts and testimonies, game rhymes, ritual insults, jokes, vocabulary and grammar, dialect and idiomatic
speech
2. Song: work songs, play-party and games, songs
3. Dance
4. Game, Play, and Strategy: tag games, guessing games, seeking games, competitive games (dueling, daring,
racing), game strategy (rules and techniques), acting, pretending
Material Culture
1. Artifacts: houses, outbuildings, roofing materials, wall and fence constructions, tools and implements
2. The Cultural Landscape: farming techniques, use of land and space, physical and economic boundaries of
regions and neighborhoods
3. Foodways: food preparation, traditional meal preparation, religious or symbolic uses for food
Family Life
1. Traditions
2. Customs
3. Religious Observations
Festivals, Drama, Ritual
1. Gesture, body movement, and use of space
2. Feast days
Cities and Towns
1. Transportation and Communication
2. General Maps
If you have other ideas, you may include them. You will need to get permission from Ms. Mathews first.
Point Breakdown:







Island Map with key---25 points
Ten artifacts, at least one from each category---50 points (5 points each)
Interview with a main character---25 points
Three different formats used ---15 points
Artifact captions (fictional context, literary significance)---20 points (2 points per artifact)
Lord of the Flies passage---20 points (2 points per artifact)
Field Notebook including:
o Decorative cover---10 points
o Table of Contents---10 points
Total: 175 points
English 10H, Mathews
Lord of the Flies
Web Resources
“American Memory: Historical Collections from the National Digital Library”
http://memory.loc.gov
“American Folklife Center” http://www.loc.gov/folklife/
“Ethnographic Study and Field Observation: The Usability Methods Toolbox”
http://jthom.best.vwh.net/usability/fieldobs.htm
“Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman’s Introduction to Field Techniques”
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/fieldwork/
Use these links to look at examples of ethnographic field studies and to read about techniques for gathering
information.