I.
Mini-Ethnography
2
A.
SMALL CHANGE
IN DUE DATE: Rough Draft can be due on either Sunday, November 25 or
Wednesday, November 28 (Professor Song is available by email if you have any
questions)
1. If
you email your Mini-Ethnography 2 to Professor Song (priscillasong@gmail.com) before
midnight on the night of Sunday, November 25, then you can receive feedback
from Professor Song before your presentation on December 5
2. If
you turn it in on Wednesday, November 28 in class, then you will NOT
receive feedback from Professor Song before your presentation on December 5
B.
Details
1. Basic
sense of what group is about
a. A
group that is somewhat manageable with regard to getting in touch with the
group members
b. If
it is a big group, then you can choose a subset
c. You
can be part of the community – just acknowledge it
d. Take
advantage of your strengths
2. Particular
aspect that is interesting to you
a. For
example: strange hierarchical structure
b. For
example: culture of competitiveness
3. Then
pursue by asking follow up questions
4. 5-7
minute presentation on December 5
5. Final
(7-10 pages) is due December 12
II.
Second
Life and Intimacy
A.
Coming of
Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human by Tom
Boellstorff
1. What
exactly is a virtual world?
a. Constructed
nature
b. Existing
separately from the actual world
c. Using
some medium for interaction
2. What
does he mean by “virtual”?
a. Stemming
from Latin meaning of “virtue”
b. “Virtual”
= almost (potentially)
c. Perceived
gap between virtual and the actual (very abstract gap)
(1) Unexamined
assumptions on personhood and constructing oneself
(2) How
it is different to be human
d. What
other types of activities threaten the gap between the virtual and the actual?
Example: Facebook profiles
3. Culture
is fundamentally virtual
a. Constructing
something beyond the actual
4. Technique:
human activity that constitutes a gap between the virtual and the actual
a. How
relationships work online
5. Second
Life experiences
a. Created
a world trying to reflect another world
(1) If
we were to trespass in real life, it would be frowned upon
6. Individual
Identity
a. Some
type of verification
b. Personifying
oneself as a different person
(1) Example:
an adult posing as a child
c. Online
extramarital affairs – same thing as extramarital affair in real life?
(1) Considered
cheating?
(2) Emotional
attachment, loyalty, etc.
d. Connection
to Facebook: friends is the “only” connection
àException:
Google Plus with “circles” and American Online Instant Messenger with “buddy
groups”
(1) What
makes the “friends” status so amenable (or “followers” on Twitter)
(i) All
on same level
(2) Now
have “Close Friends” and other groups with exclusivity
(i) Private
ones on Facebook
e. Our
notion of friends
(1) Un-friending
people? All of us in the class have done it because we are actively annoyed by
their content
f. Connection
through Facebook
(1) Story
in which finding out information (for example, engagement) on Facebook. Feel
like you’re a better friend than that. Should’ve heard through more “proper”
communication (for example, phone call)
g. “Facebook
Official” – How meaningful are relationship statuses online?
(1) “Facebook
Official” is something that is used for stronger relationships
(i) But
there are times that they mean nothing
(2) As
you get older, the relationship status online seem to be more reliable
(i) Generational
shift in Facebook relationships statuses
h. Relationships
with Multiple Partners
(1) We’re
stuck with the assumptions
(i) When
do we begin to question those?
(2) Example:
polygamous person does not show any of his or her relationships
i. Facebook
is an interesting contrast to Second Life with regard to relationships
j. By
highlighting friendship, then we divorce our prejudices by calling someone a
“friend”
(1) Gain
a truer understanding of who everyone is
k. Truth
factor of online information (Facebook, Second Life, etc.)
(1) Online
information more often not true/meaningful as when speaking in real life?
(2) Use
sharing of information through social media as base of knowing someone?
III. Boellstorff: Addiction to Social Life
(too much time online)
A.
The addiction can lead to a meshing between real
life and virtual life
1. Example:
bad consequence, like killing of friend
B.
Polluting of actual world
C.
Hurting production by hijacking our control of
Internet
IV. Mediation
of Breakups
A.
YouTube video: “Text Message Breakup”
1. Text
Messaging: part of new communication
a. Breakup
usually needs some justification
b. Tone
can’t be felt by text
V. “Fifty
Ways to Leave Your Lover: Media Ideologies and Idioms of Practice” by Ilana Gershon
A.
Not what you say – it’s how you say it
B.
How people experience media with regard to
relationships
1. No
consensus
2. Set
of beliefs about technology, but nothing set
C.
Media Ideology: what is appropriate or what is
not appropriate
--> Gap
between formal and actual
1. Email
communication: different email accounts determine different formality
2. Text
Messaging: less formal
D.
Gershon’s Research was done in 2007 and 2008
with students at Indiana University
1. Book
published in 2010
E.
With Smartphones, there is a blend between text
messaging and email, but still separate
1. Plausible
deniability
F.
Text Messaging is a huge distraction while
calling someone isn’t
1. But
allows you to talk to multiple people
2. Calling
is more immediate (for example, standing outside for the receiver of the call
to open the door)
G.
How do different modes of communication function
depending on various factors?
H.
Second-Order Information
1. Not
what is said, but expectations of communication. How to interpret others’
actions.
I.
Accountability Online
1. Examples:
Megan Meier and Amanda Todd
2. Gap
shortening between the virtual world and the reality
3. Education
necessary
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