Day Twelve: Participant Observation

SDS 237: Data Ethnography

Lindsay Poirier

Think about a measurement you took in the past two weeks. How did you engage your body when taking that measurement?

How would you characterize the role and importance of your body in taking that measurement?

Western philosophy conceptualizes body as essentially biological
- Often perceived as closer to nature (further from culture)
Rene Descartes: conceptualized mind/body distinct and separate
- Mind: non-physical or non-material, associated with consciousness, thought, and self-awareness
- Separate from brain: material human sensory organ

Mind and mental capacity often gets associated with masculinity
Physical and natural body often gets associated with femininity
Female bodies often perceived as closer to Nature
- “Mother Earth” vs. Man
- “virgin water” or “virgin forests”
- Nature itself is often feminized

Around 1980s, feminist scholarship in anthropology, sociology, etc shifted
- Not just studies of the body,
- Studies of how experiences living in bodies shape how we move through the world and what we perceive
- Also study the symbolic meaning we inscribe on bodies
Body not just biological but experiences are embodied
Critiqued essentialism about bodies - the idea that a set of characteristics define the “essence” of a body
- No singular characteristics to separate a “normal” body from an abnormal body
- No singular characteristics to separate a body from machines

An ethnographic method that involves embedding oneself in a community’s day-to-day activities
Ethnographer observes how people behave and interact through participation
Ethnographer takes written notes on what they observe which are later elaborated

To figure out what kinds of interview questions to ask
To place checks on what people say during interviews
To gather details about the physical and social environments in which individuals engage
To deepen the ethnographer’s understanding of social contexts