Challenge Questions

Question 1:

Because it seems nearly impossible to account for all experiences when doing fieldwork, we inevitably, and sometimes subconsciously, pick and choose what we remember and eventually document based on what sticks out in our minds and what we forget. To what degree is it our responsibility to account for these choices? Is it totally up to us what we include and leave out? Do we have to somehow write a disclaimer that not only is the point of view of the ethnography subjective, but the actual events or conversations included are subjective choices also? Do we have a responsibility to the culture we represent to find out what is most important to THEM to have represent their music in an ethnography?

Please write a 2-3 page response reflecting on a fieldworker's responsibilities in terms of the conscious or subconscious values she or he places on certain experiences, noting how the values of the studied culture can or should(n't) influence that which we decide is important information.



Question 2:

On pages 82 and 83 of "Shadows in the Field," Deborah Wong discusses the idea that an Ethnomusicologist is always an outsider even when she feels closest to the subject of study because she is always translating to an audience, primarily other Ethnomusicologists or anthropologists. How important is it to consider audience when writing an Ethnography? How should one tailor one's writing so that it can be understood by a certain audience, without conveying some sort of bias or distancing oneself from the group? Is there a specific audience that the ethnomusicologist should be targetting? If we have a target audience in mind from the beginning, does this affect what information we choose to pay more attention to while conducting fieldwork? If so, is this acceptable?

Please write a 2-3 page response reflecting on the importance, if there is importance, in considering one's audience when conducting fieldwork and writing an ethnography.