My community based project is The Midnight Mission in Downtown LA. It supposed to be some version of ethnographic work: Below is my proposal
The Community based organization I chose for my research is called The Midnight Mission. The Midnight Mission is a community based organization located in Downtown, LA. It supports many of the homeless population on Skid Row by offering shelter, food, and 12 step meetings/programs. They also provide job training and educational programs to assist those who are looking for a way out of poverty and addiction.
Their recovery services are meant to help those who are homeless become self-sufficient. My ethnographic research includes attending a 12 step meeting at the mission, interviews and assisting with a Midnight Mission food delivery.
This is the the info for the project as it was explained in the rubric :
The purpose of the final project is to invite you to deepen your understanding of the anthropological analysis of cultural diversity. It invites you to take an anthropological stance, to consider cultural contexts and practices, and the various meanings assigned to these, from a perspective other than your own. One important aspect of the anthropological understanding of cultural diversity is for researchers to consider cultural contexts, practices, and meaning from the emic or insider’s perspective. Furthermore, this assignment invites you to reflect upon what you learned that might help you understand the cultural dynamics of schools and schooling.
Recognizing that course members are in different academic programs, work sites, and have different career aspirations, and in an effort to have this
culminating project be the most meaningful for each, student in consultation with the professor. Students are required to go out in the field and do some basic ethnography (utilize anthropological methods) in an education setting (broadly defined), but how they approach that experience, what they focus on, and what they produce to turn in is generally open. Project Proposal
The proposal for the final project due date is on the course syllabus. Please upload your proposal for your community-based study. I will review and give approval. Please submit a brief (150-‐200 words) on the selected research site, focus, context, methods and timeline of data collection. Project Descriptions
The project must demonstrate an understanding of and be grounded in the methods, and theories of cultural anthropology. It may be inspired by the texts reviewed in class. In the final product students may consider relaying the following components (depending on your topic), these may or may not apply. The questions are here as guides and do not have to be answered in your paper.
•Detail the Research Focus & Context: [for example:] What was my research focus? What community and/or setting did select for my project? What background information do my audiences need to know? Why did I choose this setting/experience for the assignment? What was I hoping to learn from the setting/experience prior to going in? What was my prior knowledge related to this setting/experience? What are my previous beliefs/preconceptions/stereotypes related to this setting/experience?
•Discuss the Methods: [for example:] What ethnographic methods did I employ for the project? How did you garner consent?
Outside of the direct findings of the project, what did I learn as a result of having gone through this type of research? How did feel before, during and after the experience? What were the challenges of the research? How did I address these? How do other sin this setting see me? Why do I believe this to be true? What did I learn from doing this assignment? What value does ethnographic research have?
•Relay your Findings/Observations: [for example:] What are the key findings of my project? What key observations did make? Is there any other significant data to report? What did I experience?
EDUR 400
The Community-based Project
Description & Rubric
EDUR 400-Spring 2021
•Provide Analysis: [for example:] Discuss the project in terms of the core concepts of the course. For example: How do understand/describe the emic perspective related to this setting/experience? What relevant theories apply? What scholarship/research is evoked by the experience? What connections do I make to the course content? What is evinced about the anthropological notion of culture in my findings? What did I learn from the perspective of cross-‐‐ cultural comparison with my own group?
•Relate to Schooling/Education: [for example:] How will this ethnographic experience influence my educational practices?
What does this assignment teach me about the experience of individuals and communities related to schooling
