Part of being a good fieldworker is acknowledging your own subjectivities. I am a white 18 year old able-bodied cisgender female from a middle class family in Seekonk, MA. I was born in Newport and spent the first year of my life living in Narragansett and the next two in North Smithfield, though I consider Seekonk to be my hometown. I was raised Roman Catholic but if I had to label myself I would say I'm agnostic. I work as a waitress in East Providence and I currently attend Rhode Island College as a first year student. I live with my mother and father and my two sisters, ages 17 and 6. We've had a number of pets over the years; currently, we have a dog and two cats. All of these facts are relevant to my research in that they can affect the way I view and interpret data.
The people at my fieldsite vary in age, gender, and race. This subculture is a very diverse group, so I don't think anything like my age or gender will pose a problem. I'm a little nervous about overcoming my inherent shyness, but the people I've encountered so far have been very welcoming and easy to talk to.
I chose an animal shelter as my fieldsite because of my love of animals, and I know this love will definitely cloud my objectivity. I know I am biased when it comes to certain things, (one that comes to mind is the act of declawing cats - it's mutilation), but some biases are so ingrained in my psyche that I'm not consciously aware of them. Hopefully exploring my own privileges and beliefs will help me uncover these biases and remain more subjective in my field study.
Rowan, I really just like your writing style because it's so organized (and I love organization). I also think it's good that you're going to make a true effort to remain subjective in your study even if it may be difficult
ReplyDeleteWould you consider working with animals as a possible career?
ReplyDeleteI've considered it in the past. I think I'll just stick to working with animals as a volunteer, though I must admit I've been tempted to reconsider it as a career since I discovered that cat behaviorists were a thing.
DeleteI know you will be able to go past your comfort zone and talk to people at your field site. Once you do it once than it will only get easier from there on out.
ReplyDelete