Part 1: Etic Fieldwork Project Proposal

In no more than 1-3 sentences, explain which of your own cultural group or practice you are interested in studying for your Etic Fieldwork Project. Explain why you are particularly well-equipped to study that group or cultural practice and why this topic is important to you. Topics are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.

A strong response will include the following:

• A personal connection to this topic
• A specific address of a location to begin research
• A clear understanding of our course so far, connecting this proposal to the overall course materials

Some popular cultural groups from previous semesters include:

• LA LGBT Center
• Mosques, Synagogues, Churches
• National Action Network
• Black Lives Matter
• LAPD
• Unitarian Universalists
• Mosques, Synagogues, Churches
• Buddhist or Hindu Temples
• The Democratic Party
• The Republican Party
• National Resource Defense Council
• ACLU
• Veteran’s Affairs
• Charity organizations

Part 2: Ethnographic Research Method

What is your plan to gather information for your Emic and Etic Fieldwork Projects? Take a moment to journal the questions that you might like to ask your informants in order to gather the information that interests you.

Part 3: Language and Reality

In this module, you learned about two theoretical approaches: “The Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis” (which argues that language shapes our sense of reality) and “Symbolic Anthropology (which views culture as a set of symbols used to convey meaning). Do you like either of these theoretical approaches? Is either applicable to your life?

What words exist in your culture that do not exist elsewhere? How does this specific language reveal something important about your group’s cultural values?