I've started some research, but not too much. I haven't had much time to get started because I have a few tests this week that I am trying to get ready for. However, since I am involved in the subculture I am researching I have been able to look at the subculture and try to view it from an outsider's prospective. While there I thought about some possible questions for my interviews. Some possible questions for the pastor could be "Why did you choose to be a pastor and why did you choose this church?" Possible questions for the individual who attends church could be "What are your views on Christians vs non Christians" or "Did anyone influence you to become a Christian and if so then who?" Possible questions for the outsider could be "What are your views on Christianity?" or "Is there a reason as to why you chose not to be a Christian?"
While viewing the congregation from an outsider's prospective I imagine an outsider would see how the church loves and welcomes everyone in, even if they are new to the church. I also think that an outsider would probably feel a little uncomfortable if they saw this because that is not considered the "norm". Being able to walk in and be loved without any knowledge of who anyone is would be a little weird.
I think that you will always find differences in academic research vs. non academic research. It's hard to find out what outsider's think about Christianity while searching through books. o it is best to do an interview with an outsider to get their reactions to certain questions and to hopefully get true answers.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Week #2
Well I think I have finally chosen the subculture that I want to know more about. I am going to do my fieldwork at MCON, Middletown Church of the Nazarene. I am going to be working in the subculture of Christianity. MCON is rather large and consists of about five hundred people; even though, the town of Middletown has only about 2,200 people.
While researching in a field I am very familiar in, I hope to find out what different parts of the Church are involved in. I also want to find out about rituals or behaviors that reside in Christians other than myself. Working with this subculture will be difficult since I have been raised as a Christian and in this Church, but I am going to try my best to keep my eyes open and look inside the Church as if I were an outsider. Hopefully by doing this study will help strengthen my faith and help me get closer to the congregation.
While researching in a field I am very familiar in, I hope to find out what different parts of the Church are involved in. I also want to find out about rituals or behaviors that reside in Christians other than myself. Working with this subculture will be difficult since I have been raised as a Christian and in this Church, but I am going to try my best to keep my eyes open and look inside the Church as if I were an outsider. Hopefully by doing this study will help strengthen my faith and help me get closer to the congregation.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
box 11
So I am torn between two fieldworks here it goes...
There are many factors that could interfere with studying online poker. Here are a few that may affect my view of things during my field study: my gender, my age, and my schedule. When most people think of online poker, they think that it is predominantly older males and the individual must have some sort of gambling problem. So being a younger female who is trying to become an insider might have a different impact than if an older male were conducting this research. I also have never had a problem with gambling nor do I think that studying this subculture will change that. I have, however, found that online poker consumes an enormous amount of time. Since I am a college student I fear that studying this subculture will cut into my schedule, but it is a field in which I have always wanted to find more about.
From a subjective position, I would like to study this subculture in order to better understand this time consuming obsession. I want to know what the fun is in just sitting at a computer for hours at a time playing poker. Having a friend who plays and is only 16 has always made me wonder about his obsession he has with poker. I also want to know what drives a person, who is not legally able to play, become so obsessed that he does not care what the consequences may be. Could it be the money? Could it be that he is just being a rebelling teenager? Or could it be that he actually has a gambling problem? These are some of the questions I am bound to find out.
The field of study I am also interested in finding more about is one in which I belong to. I plan on studying the Nazarene Christian. I can’t even think of any fixed positions that might affect my study because everyone is welcome in a Church. So being a 19 year old white female really has no toll as to where I might stand in the Church. I am already involved in the Church; therefore, it will not interfere with my schedule. From a subjective point of view, I would like to study this subculture to see what other individuals have to say about their own faith. I have been going to the same church since I was born and I have always been involved with the children’s ministry; which is why I want to venture away from the children and interact with the elders or the youth ministries. My biggest difficulty in writing about Christians would be the fact that I am already a Christian and I need to look at Christianity from a whole different view.
There are many factors that could interfere with studying online poker. Here are a few that may affect my view of things during my field study: my gender, my age, and my schedule. When most people think of online poker, they think that it is predominantly older males and the individual must have some sort of gambling problem. So being a younger female who is trying to become an insider might have a different impact than if an older male were conducting this research. I also have never had a problem with gambling nor do I think that studying this subculture will change that. I have, however, found that online poker consumes an enormous amount of time. Since I am a college student I fear that studying this subculture will cut into my schedule, but it is a field in which I have always wanted to find more about.
From a subjective position, I would like to study this subculture in order to better understand this time consuming obsession. I want to know what the fun is in just sitting at a computer for hours at a time playing poker. Having a friend who plays and is only 16 has always made me wonder about his obsession he has with poker. I also want to know what drives a person, who is not legally able to play, become so obsessed that he does not care what the consequences may be. Could it be the money? Could it be that he is just being a rebelling teenager? Or could it be that he actually has a gambling problem? These are some of the questions I am bound to find out.
The field of study I am also interested in finding more about is one in which I belong to. I plan on studying the Nazarene Christian. I can’t even think of any fixed positions that might affect my study because everyone is welcome in a Church. So being a 19 year old white female really has no toll as to where I might stand in the Church. I am already involved in the Church; therefore, it will not interfere with my schedule. From a subjective point of view, I would like to study this subculture to see what other individuals have to say about their own faith. I have been going to the same church since I was born and I have always been involved with the children’s ministry; which is why I want to venture away from the children and interact with the elders or the youth ministries. My biggest difficulty in writing about Christians would be the fact that I am already a Christian and I need to look at Christianity from a whole different view.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Box #2
I spend hours upon hours every week on machines that end up making my entire body sore. I get the privilege of staying up so late that my eyes start to burn. I hurriedly get ready by putting on clothes that most women would not dare wear in public, and tying my hair behind my head keeping it from surrounding my face - another thing most women try to prevent. I then expose myself to cute men who most likely would not care for my style. I jump up on the machine, where I plan to get drenched in sweat, making my appearance worse than before. My face becomes red and I begin to dream of a nice warm shower, but I force myself to stay on the machines for at least an hour longer. I have my reasons for performing this dreadful event; although, many individuals try to stay away from these machines. I have been doing this for many years now and I don't plan on quitting any time soon.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Nazarene Christians
Church
Groups- Christians, Catholics, etc
Rituals – praying , going to church on Sunday, getting baptized, communion, reading the Bible
Positions- Senior pastor, youth pastor, children’s pastor, Sunday school teachers, congregation
Rules- Ten commandments, Bible
Behaviors- Obeying, Accepting, Believeing, Faithfulness etc.
Location- Church
Nazarene Christians
I belong to a subculture of which many people belong to. I am a Nazarene Christian and a strong believer in God. Being a Christian I get to see in person what it’s all about. The place of meeting for Christians is usually a church on a Sunday morning, although some groups may meet at someone else’s house to talk about scripture on various nights of the week. One ritual that we perform, and is probably one of the most important things to join in on is communion. Communion consists of the eating and drinking of bread and wine. Now I know you are thinking that something doesn’t sound right here so I’ll explain. The bread symbolizes Christ’s body being broken for us and the wine is a symbol of the blood He shed for us. Going to church on Sunday, praying, and getting baptized are also common rituals of the Christian subculture. Nazarene Christians also behave in a certain way, or at least we are supposed to. We have a set of rules that are called The Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are found in the Bible. The Bible is pretty much the Christian guideline for life.
Groups- Christians, Catholics, etc
Rituals – praying , going to church on Sunday, getting baptized, communion, reading the Bible
Positions- Senior pastor, youth pastor, children’s pastor, Sunday school teachers, congregation
Rules- Ten commandments, Bible
Behaviors- Obeying, Accepting, Believeing, Faithfulness etc.
Location- Church
Nazarene Christians
I belong to a subculture of which many people belong to. I am a Nazarene Christian and a strong believer in God. Being a Christian I get to see in person what it’s all about. The place of meeting for Christians is usually a church on a Sunday morning, although some groups may meet at someone else’s house to talk about scripture on various nights of the week. One ritual that we perform, and is probably one of the most important things to join in on is communion. Communion consists of the eating and drinking of bread and wine. Now I know you are thinking that something doesn’t sound right here so I’ll explain. The bread symbolizes Christ’s body being broken for us and the wine is a symbol of the blood He shed for us. Going to church on Sunday, praying, and getting baptized are also common rituals of the Christian subculture. Nazarene Christians also behave in a certain way, or at least we are supposed to. We have a set of rules that are called The Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are found in the Bible. The Bible is pretty much the Christian guideline for life.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Week #1
My favorite and probably one of the best papers I have ever written was a literacy narrative. It was suppose to be a story from a childhood memory about a personal experience I had with reading or writing. I don’t normally wait until the last minute to write a paper, but this paper was given to us during finals and we only had a couple days to write it so I procrastinated a bit, but usually when I write I give myself a few days to work on it before it’s due. I also like to organize my thoughts before I start writing. If I don’t my paper usually gets all jumbled with what I am trying to say and it just turns into a big mess. I always have on some music to help calm me down; well not all music just certain genres.
When I’m finished writing the rough draft I normally have my sister, who is always a big help when it comes to English, revise or read over the entire paper to see if I need to rework any ideas or add any new information to spice it up. When she is done revising it we both edit or pick apart each individual sentence to see if there are any grammatical or spelling errors.
When I’m finished writing the rough draft I normally have my sister, who is always a big help when it comes to English, revise or read over the entire paper to see if I need to rework any ideas or add any new information to spice it up. When she is done revising it we both edit or pick apart each individual sentence to see if there are any grammatical or spelling errors.
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