Conduct a participant observation (ethnographic study) wherein you study through participation in a particular cross- cultural group event or social organizational meeting. Samples of events may include a visit to a religious group other than the one you usually attend, hanging out at a greasy spoon café or coffee shop and observing tipping behavior, attending a cross-cultural sporting event (e.g. if you are American, perhaps soccer but NOT American football or baseball), or volunteering with an organization that serves a cultural population somehow different than your own. To complete the assignment paper, first consider what cultural norms may be different from your own and discuss them in writing. Then, participate in the event, writing down your observations, noting any patterns you observe, and pointing out any observations or patterns that particularly surprise you. Why are they surprising to you? What might be the purpose(s) behind the perceived difference? Throughout your paper, you should reflect on your own cultural identity compared to the group being observed. Additionally, you should apply Sociological theory in an attempt to explain multicultural and global diversity.
Instruction:
between 1.5 and 2 pages in length (typed, double spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins).
