Journal Entry #2

Mini-ethnography, Essay #2

The main part of this journal assignment is choosing a topic for your Ethnographic Essay. First, make sure your subculture meets the following qualifications:

• it is accessible to you
• its members gather at places you can visit
• it interests you in some way
• it is something you can research online or at the library if you get stuck
• you are not a member of the subculture

Also, you have to ensure that your group meets the definition of a subculture. In order for it to be considered a subculture, the answers to the following questions need to be yes:

• Group Identity: Does the group you want to study feel, at least implicitly, a sense of identification with each other as members? (This doesn't necessarily mean that they all like each other or always get along.)
• Rituals: Do group members share certain behaviors, outlooks, beliefs, or motivations for belonging?
• Language: Do they share a common language? Do they tend to describe things in similar ways, or use words or phrases that have special significance to the group?
• Artifacts: Do they share an interest in certain objects or artifacts? Do they invest these things with similar significance?

Write about how you chose subculture. Describe the subculture, why you chose it, and how it meets the above qualifications (in both sets of questions).