“Ethnography is a method of inquiry into culture that exposes the web in which members of a group are enmeshed, much the way morning dew exposes the intricacies of a spider web in your back yard.”
When I first started reading chapter ten to expand my knowledge about ethnographic essays I was very confused with the concept of how they should be put together. However as I continued my way through the chapter I gained great understanding of how to composite an essay of my own, I also learned a lot from reading Casassa and Dudley’s essays. Although each author’s essays show no resemblance in topic, they are both perfect examples of a well-written ethnographic essay. Casassa focuses on a more traditional envorment, a coffee shop; where as Dudley observes a “Head shop”.
The writing style of “The Coffee Shop” by Andrea Casassa really reached out to the reader, giving us the feeling as if we were sitting at a table drinking coffee and observing the different customers right there with her. She set up her essay in sections of time frames. 7:00 to 1:30 P.M. she fully describes when each customer comes in and what they order. She is so exact about telling us about these orders. For instance “small cup, one cream, one sugar, little “drop” of water, ice if you have it.” As I continued to read through her essay I began to get a feeling that she was becoming part of the “coffee family”. She observed these people so intensely and really took note of the minor things that most of us would not pick up on. She states “Each community needs a coffee shop, not only for the obvious reasons like caffeine addictions but also for sanity.” She then later begins to explain that some might be more attracted to Starbucks rather than a hole in the wall coffee shop, but she begins to explain that the homey atmosphere of the coffee shop makes you feel like you are away from the clutter of the world and you have the ability to relax. I also like the way Casassa compiled her essay, she first starts out describing the representation the coffee shop repelled, and then she grabbed our attention by talking about the quirky customers.
Mathew Dudley’s essay “The Dope on Head Shops” took a definite shift from Casassa. Dudley not only observed something that was foreign to him but he also did a lot of background research about the head shops, marijuana, and the people these shops attracted. “ The shops of the 1960’s sold “basic marijuana paraphernalia such as rolling papers and roach clips.. And by the 1970’s shops had spread to cities like Atlanta selling among other items marijuana pipes designed as Star Wars space guns and comic books that introduced people to the logistics of rolling joints and snorting cocaine” (B40) Dudley defiantly found interesting research information, and drew the reader in by including the data that he found. As his observing and research continued I also began to get a sense that he became “family” to the head shop owners. In his essay he makes the idea of marijuana sound peaceful and happy. He also defends the idea of these head shops and the items that they sell. It was interesting to read because it not only showed customer patterns but it gave research behind marijuana and head shops. An abundance of information I did not know much about before!
I think that each essay presents great example of how a correct ethnographic essay should be put together. Each essay not only demonstrated completely diverse topics but also showed us different formats. In my opinion I enjoyed reading Casassa’s essay more. She really caught my attention by describing the atmosphere of the coffee shop and giving us each customers order..Etc. As I was reading I could just picture her sitting there observing the coffee crowd. I am also inspired by Dudley’s essay because he did a lot of background research and really hunted to find interested background information that was relevant to his essay.
After reading chapter ten and examples of each essay I am now much more confident in picking a topic for my ethnographic essay. I have gained a better and clearer understanding of where and how to begin my paper!
