Ethnographic Research

I found Monday's class on conducting ethnographic research very valuable. Last semester for a Modern Jewish Culture and Society class, I conducted my own ethnographic research on an issue we discussed in F359. I wrote a paper on if/how an organized trip to Israel via Birthright or Study Abroad affect's one's Jewishness. I interviewed four of my peers who had been on this program, and had almost no instruction on how to properly interview them to get the maximum value out of it. Therefore I found Monday's class very valuable. Specifically, how to properly ask questions. One of the biggest pieces of advice I found was how simpler is better. Instead of asking a two part question, I learned to keep it more opened ended.

Additionally, I think using the three questions as a starting point would be very beneficial. For my topic about the movie, "Waltz with Bashir", I began to frame these questions in my context. First, in terms of what group of people are involved, I think this question could have an infinite answer. While one would initially think it involves the characters in the movie, the production crew, and those on both side involved in the fighting in Lebanon, I would argue it involves everyone who sees the film. At this time, I cannot make any judgment on the second two questions, but I think they will properly provide guidance for my research.