Description
Ethnography Assignment: Report on Observations in a Town Common (Hartford CT Bushnell park) Public space plays an important role in the social life of the city. Perhaps none have been more important than the town common. Though descendant from the English common, the town common (or village green, etc.) in the U.S. dates back to the formation of Boston Common in 1634. Town commons are parcels of land that are generally held “in common” by members of society. They have served as communal grazing areas, parade grounds, sites for military training, sites for monuments and memorials, executions, and burial grounds. Whatever the use, the key feature of these commons is their use by the citizens of the community. In this assignment, you will make observations in a local town common with which you have some familiarity. If your hometown has a common or green, then you may select that space. You could choose a park or other public space in Hartford for the sake of convenience if you wish. Whichever common/ green you choose to study, you should be sure to answer the following question: What is the social life of the space? Before you begin your observations, you should read the handout, an excerpt from anthropologist Setha Low’s book, On the Plaza: The Politics of Public Space and Culture (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 2000), pp. 36-44; 154-179. While Low’s work examined the social life of the plaza in San Jose, Costa Rica, her methodology is particularly useful for your work in Connecticut town commons. A key element of Low’s research centered on her use of “behavioral maps” (pp. 39; 162-177). She used these maps to locate and spatialize the various activities occurring in the plaza. By following her methodology, you can use these kinds of maps to help locate the users of the plaza by counting people by location, gender, race, age, or other social identity that might be relevant (pp. 160-161). One particularly useful method of study was her use of “movement maps” (pp. 162-167). Following Low’s methodology, make at least 3 hours of observation at your study site. You can choose to conduct your observations in a one-time study for 3 consecutive hours, or you can choose to break it up into any number of trips. But, as Low pointed out, your observations will be impacted by changing social behaviors and external factors. For example, the activities in your town common will vary depending on the day of the week (business people on a weekday vs. a farmer’s market on the weekend) and weather (sunny and clear vs. cold and rainy). Your report should include at least one movement map and one behavioral map per hour of observation (that means you need at least 3 of each kind). Following Low’s methodology, be sure to indicate the day of the week, the time and the weather conditions of your observations. Please be sure to take notes and sketch maps while in the field, but revise your maps at a later time so that you submit “clean” maps. There are a variety of digital drawing tools available but these are not necessary as long as you take your time to draw your clean maps. In addition to your maps, you should also include a written description of the “rhythm” of the life in your study site. This description should be organized to provide a 2- to 3-page narrative that accompanies both the movement and behavioral maps. Please be sure to cite all sources properly using any citation format you wish (as long as you are consistent in your implementation of it).
