Ethnography of Emotions (research paper)
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
2. The paper should be typed, using Times New Roman font, size 11, double space.
3. Paper length should not exceed 4 double-spaced pages.
4. Please be careful to write using correct grammar, including proper sentence
structure, accurate punctuation, and appropriate paragraph breaks.
5. When relying on other works, please specify precise references, including page
numbers in the referenced sources. Please use Chicago, APA, or MLA style,
consistently. You may add the list of references as an appendix.
The purpose of the second paper is to reveal something new or interesting about the connection between emotion and culture by interviewing three (or more) persons (students/faculty/staff who are not participants of the colloquium). The idea is to understand the interviewees in their own terms (which means, among other things, being attentive to their terms). Be ready for and open to finding out other, perhaps more interesting and maybe even surprising, things than you initially expected when you formulated your research and interview questions.
You have a great degree of liberty to choose the topic and questions for the interviews and to decide how to structure the paper. However, the paper should demonstrate the following four elements:
a) Your research question. This question defines what you hope to learn about the relations between emotion and culture through the interviews with your participants. Make sure that the question is not too broad and can lend itself to relatively short interview sessions (60-90 minutes). Examples for well-defined questions are: How does pride manifest in the lives of people coming from an Australian background? Is there a connection between attraction and hope that is constant across cultures? What can the vocabulary that different cultures use to speak about happiness tell us about the experience of happiness in those cultures?
b) Your methodology. Provide details about what you did during your research and how you did it (e.g., the format of your interview, what was the rationale or goal behind the questions you asked, why you chose these persons to be your
informants, technical details such as the number of times you met the interviewees,
for how long, and so on).
c) Your findings. Explain what you learned about emotion and culture through the
assignment; in other words, what expected or unexpected answers did you receive to your research question through this mini-study? To report your findings, use evidence taken directly from your interviews.
d) Interpretation and evaluation. Analyze your findings in light of at least two concepts, ideas, or theories discussed in the unit on emotions, culture, and society. This can involve, for example, an explanation of your findings in light of universalist or constructionist interpretations, by comparison with a case study discussed in class, using theoretical concepts that we learned, etc.
The paper will be evaluated according to the degree to which it meets the general guidelines and the four elements (a-d) mentioned above and according to the following criteria: (1) depth of analysis, (2) grasp of material taught in class, (3) evidence supporting the paper’s findings, (4) organization of the paper, and (5) clarity of the paper.
3. Paper length should not exceed 4 double-spaced pages.
4. Please be careful to write using correct grammar, including proper sentence
structure, accurate punctuation, and appropriate paragraph breaks.
5. When relying on other works, please specify precise references, including page
numbers in the referenced sources. Please use Chicago, APA, or MLA style,
consistently. You may add the list of references as an appendix.
The purpose of the second paper is to reveal something new or interesting about the connection between emotion and culture by interviewing three (or more) persons (students/faculty/staff who are not participants of the colloquium). The idea is to understand the interviewees in their own terms (which means, among other things, being attentive to their terms). Be ready for and open to finding out other, perhaps more interesting and maybe even surprising, things than you initially expected when you formulated your research and interview questions.
You have a great degree of liberty to choose the topic and questions for the interviews and to decide how to structure the paper. However, the paper should demonstrate the following four elements:
a) Your research question. This question defines what you hope to learn about the relations between emotion and culture through the interviews with your participants. Make sure that the question is not too broad and can lend itself to relatively short interview sessions (60-90 minutes). Examples for well-defined questions are: How does pride manifest in the lives of people coming from an Australian background? Is there a connection between attraction and hope that is constant across cultures? What can the vocabulary that different cultures use to speak about happiness tell us about the experience of happiness in those cultures?
b) Your methodology. Provide details about what you did during your research and how you did it (e.g., the format of your interview, what was the rationale or goal behind the questions you asked, why you chose these persons to be your
informants, technical details such as the number of times you met the interviewees,
for how long, and so on).
c) Your findings. Explain what you learned about emotion and culture through the
assignment; in other words, what expected or unexpected answers did you receive to your research question through this mini-study? To report your findings, use evidence taken directly from your interviews.
d) Interpretation and evaluation. Analyze your findings in light of at least two concepts, ideas, or theories discussed in the unit on emotions, culture, and society. This can involve, for example, an explanation of your findings in light of universalist or constructionist interpretations, by comparison with a case study discussed in class, using theoretical concepts that we learned, etc.
The paper will be evaluated according to the degree to which it meets the general guidelines and the four elements (a-d) mentioned above and according to the following criteria: (1) depth of analysis, (2) grasp of material taught in class, (3) evidence supporting the paper’s findings, (4) organization of the paper, and (5) clarity of the paper.