Ethics & Relativism at my scene

At this stage of ethnographic fieldwork at my cultural scene, I’m not exactly sure what it is I will be studying or looking for. But one thing I am quite sure of: how ever I study or interact with my cultural scene, it will be done with a relativistic perspective. My goal throughout the semester will be to observe rather than to judge. At all times, it will be my goal to suspend my own standards and values. This is not an easy task, but it is an approach that I have been trying to perfect in my own life for a number of years.

Because I am feeling so fuzzy about the actual focus of my study at my cultural scene, I am also unclear what ethical concerns I will encounter. In considering my scene, I can’t anticipate any special ethical issues. I don’t know if I will be actually approaching people with questions or what. If I must interact with my subjects, I will need to inform them of my purpose and have them sign a consent form from Boise State’s Office of Research Compliance.

If it all possible, I hope to practice an autoethnographic method of research. As stated by Dr. House in the special instructions that accompanied this assignment, autoenthnography implies that I am my own informant. As I understand this, I will make observations and perhaps deduce certain things from those observations. The observations will be of individuals who cannot be identified by any information I provide in my blog. My “subjects” will be sheltered by anonymity. In this way, I will be true to the American Anthropological Association’s code of ethics to “do no harm,” as describe on page 90 of the 7th Edition of Humanity; An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.

First observation

I'm stumbling along with this. I'm not sure how to proceed. I've been in my blog spot for about 15 minutes. Not much is happening this time of day, mid-morning approaching lunch-time. One young woman has been reading the Boise Weekly. She's dressed in a white hoodie sweatshirt, jeans and leather tennies. Her auburn hair is pulled into a half ponytail on top of her head. She looks like a college student. She has finished with her newspaper and is now savoring another cup of coffee while she ponders a small spiral-bound pad that looks a bit like a day planner. She seems lost in thought, probably a bit the way I appear.

Behind the counter we have the store manager, a curly-haired and bearded young man of about 26. My favorite Barista is pouring coffee. She, too, is a student at BSU. She's a brilliant and beautiful girl with long dark hair and a ubiquitous smile. Since this person may be with me frequently in this blog, I will refer to her as Steph, although that is not her correct name.

Since I've been here, two male customers who were reading the paper or other reading material have gone their own ways. A woman came to the counter and ordered her usual drink. Steph warned her that the last 4 women who regularly ordered that drink have become pregnant recently. They shared a laugh over this.

Since I have no idea what I'm doing, I think I'll end this now. I'm beginning to think this may not be a good place for an anthropological study, but it's the only place I can count on frequenting at least once a week for the entire semester, aside from classes in which I don't want to be distracted by the active process of observation.

Linda's Cultural Study

I wish I were still working, because that office would have been a wonderful environment for this study. Alas. I have selected a local coffee shop where I spend way too much money.

The variety of people to observe will not be as broad as I would like, but this is a location that I can count on spending time in at least once a week. I can sit and quietly observe what's going on while blending into the decor.

People come and go at this location from approximately 6AM till 10PM. The age spread of the people is quite broad and the customers are reasonably diverse, although they must all have a certain amount of pocket change. Interactions between baristas and customers are always interesting.