Assignment Format:

•        Typed –Times New Roman, size 12

•        Spacing – double-spaced between sections, but single-spaced is allowed within the paragraphs

•        Student ID (please don’t put your name on it); date, class, etc. in the upper left corner.

•        Student ID & the page number as a header in the upper right corner of each page  Complete sentences in paragraphs, with some bulleted material as appropriate

 Requirements:

•        1200 word minimum

•        Edited for clarity & grammatical correctness

•        Minimum of FIVE credible sources  o Wikipedia or public domain/crowdsourcing sites (Yahoo!Asks,Quora, etc.) are not allowed.

•        Properly formatted citations in either APA or MLA format both in-text & in a reference/Work Cited page at the end of the document.

 Assignment: For this assignment, you will create a focused ethnography about a chosen culture that focuses on specific cultural elements. The purpose of the Ethnography is to promote cultural respect & humility, limit ethnocentrism, & allow us to grow more aware in regards to that culture.

 You will construct your cultural ethnography based off of these elements: 

•        Overview/heritage 

•        Family Roles & Organization

•        Gender, Sex, & Sexuality

•        Spirituality & Death Rituals

•        Creative Expression

 

At the end of this assignment sheet, there is a bulleted list of categories & suggested search topics for you to consider related to each of these topics. You are NOT required to find information for every item in the list. Let these suggestions guide your research, not define/limit it. 

 

Your Ethnography should contain:

•        Introduction: an overall introduction to the project – a brief discussion of how the ethnography works to promote cultural empathy & unity and limit ethnocentrism, along with why it’s important to know this information (200-250 words).

 

•        Discussion of cultural elements – write a brief summary (1-3 sentences) of each cultural element, explaining what it is, what it covers, & how it impacts cultural understanding.

Then, using paragraphs/complete sentences & bulleted lists as appropriate, offer

examples of each element as they appear in your assigned culture. You’re not trying to make us fluent in the culture, just give us a broad understanding. (150-300 words per section).

 

•        Sources/Research – the entire report MUST have at least 5 sources. These sources might be census data, charts, cultural histories, sociological or anthropological articles, videos, news reports, scientific studies/reports, etc. There is a broad range of information out there, and you may reference the same source more than once throughout the assignment.  o Cite the information in-text as you use it & then cite the source again at the end of the document in a properly formatted citations page using either MLA or APA style (be consistent, please).

 

•        Conclusion of the work as a whole in which you offer a final wrap up of your findings, including a discussion of why cultural humility matters in regards to dealing with not just your assigned culture, but all cultures, along with why it’s important to learn about other cultures (roughly 250-350 words).

 

•        References – a reference page in which all citations for the entire project are listed, formatted correctly in either APA or MLA style (whichever you used for the citations).   o Use the SuperSearch on the OC Library website for help with sources.

o Wikipedia should not be on your sources list; find credible, trustworthy sources.

 

Grading: The grade for this final project will be divided into 2 sections. The entire project is worth 25% of your semester grade. You will be graded on:

 

1.     Content/Report Materials (20%) – the thoroughness and complexity of your gathered material, as well as how well you fulfilled the assignment requirements.

 

2.     Details (5%) – the nit-picky details that affect understanding (spelling, grammatical issues), readability (flow of the material, sentence structure, etc.), & credibility (types of source used, ways sources are listed, etc).

 

You will present the findings of your Ethnography on the last day of class (May 14). The presentation will be a separate grade from the written Ethnography. More information will be provided for the presentation at a later date.

 

Tips/Guidelines:

•        Please read the materials & assignment sheet thoroughly.

•        Please read/look at the example ethnography given in the assignment folder in Module 3.  Use OWL at Purdue website for help with citation format/style.

 

 

Please see the next page for suggestions on what to write about/search for in the cultural elements.

 

 

Suggestions for Cultural Elements

 

Overview/heritage 

•        Country of origin & current residence 

•        Politics & economics

•        Ethnic & racial make-up

•        Major forms of subsidence/survival

 

 

Family Roles & Organization 

•        Head of the household  •        Family roles & priorities  •        Developmental tasks of children and adolescents  •        Roles of the ages and extended family members  •        Single parenting  •        Child-less marriages  •        Divorce      Gender, Sex, & Sexuality		Pregnancy & child-rearing practices  o Fertility practices & birth control o   Prescriptive, restrictive &/or taboo practices related to pregnancy o   Labor & delivery
•        Views toward alternative lifestyles  •        Sexual orientation  •        Gender roles – family, workplace, society, etc. •        Views of gender – binary system, non-binary, trans, etc.   Spirituality & Death Rituals	•                    •                    •	Social status Views of sex – private act, publicly accepted, etc Type of society – patriarchy, matriarchy, etc.
•        Religious practices  •        Use of prayer  •        Behaviors that give meaning to life  •        Individual sources of strength  •        How death is viewed	•                    •                    •	Rituals & behaviors to prepare for death  Burial practices  Bereavement/grieving/mourning behaviors

 Euthanasia 

 

Creative Expression 

 

•        Function of art/artistic expression – political, religious, personal/cultural identity, entertainment, etc.

•        Common cultural artistic expressions – dance, music, art, sculpture, fashion, films, stories, tattoos, etc.

•        Power/role of creative expression in society – seen as worthwhile? Not practical?

•        Creative expression & tourism

•        Street Art/Graffiti 

•        Folk Art