Week 3-Posting

I have yet to start my actual fieldwork.  I plan on stopping in at some shelters and soup kitchens when I am back home this weekend.  I have came up with about 10 questions that I think are going to be important to ask.  These questions can also lead to other questions and stories that may be compelling to use in my final project.

1.  How long have you been living without a home?

2. Is your family with you?

3. Do you still have contact with your extended family?

4. Where are you from?

5. Have you made any friends or people you would consider family?

6. Where are your favorite places to go to eat/wash up or just go for personal time?

7. What is the Current job outlook?

8. What do you think the government could do to help ensure that this doesn't happen to people?

9. How do you get by day to day for money?

10. Have you seen/been apart of any violence?

I am still not sure what my expectations are, I have no idea what I will be seeing or what the individuals will be sharing with me.  I haven't visited the library for any text books yet, but yes there is definitely a difference between academic research and hands on.  I think that both our of equal value, if anything the hands on or observing being more important.  

Week 2 Posting

As of now I have been thinking about doing my culture/subculture on the homeless.  When it comes to me having to do my fieldwork there are two place that I have in mind, shelters and soup kitchens.  I know that there are a few in the city where I live at back home.  I can also do some research to see if there are a few here in the Muncie area.  I have yet to visit any of these places personally so I am not quite sure of what to expect.  I am hoping to find and speak to people of all ages and find out their story if they are willing to share.  With them being in a somewhat familiar and safe place I am hoping that it makes them easier to open up and share parts of their experiences, whether it be good or bad.  With me being an such an outsider on this subculture I am totally open to learning anything and everything about the culture.  I would like to find out where things tend to turn bad and what we can do as society to help people who are less fortunate.  We tend to turn our backs on a problem that doesn't affect our day to day lives and this is one of them.  

Box 2

It usually begins very early in the morning.  Men gather to stand, talk, and size each other up for competition.  They each carry sacks in which hold many sticks at different lengths.  They repeatedly use these sticks to smack small white objects far away only to go and chase them down.  There is water, sand, and grass all throughout the layout.  When the men reach the short grass the use their shortest stick from their bag and continually smack the white object until it has disappeared into the earth.  The process is continued seventeen more times.

Box 11- Positioning Yourself

When I begin to conduct research, there are a few fixed positions that I know will come into effect.  These being that I'm a young male, I would think that most of the people that I talk to will look at me like I don't really know how "hard" life can be since I haven't seen much.  Another position that I think might play a factor in my research is my class status.  Some people may look at me and think that I may trying to make a mockery of the situation and cause them not to open up to me.  I do not have any previous experiences with the homeless other than only seeing them on the streets and maybe donating money.  I have not had a conversation with anyone that I knew was homeless so I am not quite sure what language I will need to know or pick up as of now.

Subculture- Homelessness

I intend on reading various books to help me gain a better understanding of the subculture before i jump in and start conducting interviews for my research.  My sources for research will be made up of a lot of interviews hopefully. Visiting shelters may help me find people that will be willing to participate in my understanding of there cultures.   Also I saw a video in my Sociology class last semester that talked about a different kind of homeless person that most people are not aware of, which is the "hidden homeless."  Videos may also provide good information.  

I can't really imagine what types of behaviors, patterns, rituals, and rules. etc to run into, but I think that I may run into people with maybe some sort of mental disorder.  Only from what I have gathered from previous experiences. 

Posting 1

When I start writing a paper, I usually start out by reading and re-reading what exactly I have to cover in my paper over and over.  After I come to the Point where I really understand what is being asked of me to write I usually go and some a cigarette.  I then begin to think of ways that I will be able to answer the questions being asked of me or how to set my paper up in the direction that I intend on it too.  When I make it back inside I begin to start the heading of my paper and maybe get a little mellow music playing (John Butler).

I usually don't make an actual outline.  I have some sort of vision, in my head, of how I want the paper to go.  This is how I wrote my term paper in my Senior English class.  This paper required that I did a lot of research.  It was over Scientology, and I wasn't familiar with the Religion very well so I had to do my homework on the topic.  Usually I just jump right into the paper and write.  I don't even think of the grammatical errors of where the paper will end up.  When i reach the required length of the paper, I go back and make sure that is has the proper flow and organization.