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Sarah Stover Reading Response 2

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While I was reading the third chapter of //My Freshman Year//, I kept remembering everything from my first week at Bloomsburg. There were a lot of seminars we had to attend, and we had a summer reading book that was discussed in groups as well. Our CA’s even passed around sheets asking us what we would like to get involved in this year or what kind of seminars we would go to, just like Dr. Nathan’s RA.=====

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Speaking of getting involved, this section of the book talked about community. Some people find community to be very important, while others don’t take it very seriously. Personally, I’m really grateful I got involved in the Education LLC last year and the DASL community. I met the greatest friends and participated in many cool things that I probably would never have done if I didn’t join these two groups. Another thing Dr. Nathan talked about was how most students considered their community to be their group of friends or “homeys.” These groups of friends were usually those who lived in the same dorm or apartment building. I can agree because my closest friends are the people I lived with, went to dinner with, and went shopping with. But, I also think we didn’t become such close friends just because we lived together – at least some of it had to do with our personalities.=====

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The two things I found most interesting in Chapter 2 of //Ethnography// was that the author mentioned how ethnographers themselves can only record what they see, not what they don’t see. They can ask questions such as Who? What? Where? When? and How? But, they can’t ask Why? I understood the first part; ethnographers are there to observe, not to decipher what could have been. However, I was surprised at the second part and that they could not ask Why?=====

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When I was discussing the chapter with my roommate (who’s also in this class), we talked about the one section where Shirley figures out how skateboarders tell time. Since she couldn’t ask why the skateboarders all managed to arrive at a location within minutes of each other, she found evidence to support her hypothesis that they all watched a TV series in front of television stores. So, I thought maybe the reason ethnographers couldn’t ask Why? was because everyone might have a different answer or maybe they wouldn’t give a truthful answer. Instead maybe it’s better to stay objective and observe as much as you can to find a conclusion.=====

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I know that sometimes, when someone is watching me or asking personal questions, I act or answer differently than I would normally. I’m sure that’s what ethnographers realize. When someone knows they are being observed, the conclusions that ethnographers draw might not be accurate. Maybe that’s why they don’t ask Why?=====

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