Maria Noun Since it was my first time writing an ethnography, I thought it was best that once I had chosen my research site, I go into the field with a concrete research topic on my mind. I knew that my lack of experience would mean that I was likely to start off my observations … Continue reading
Michael Saleki My case study for ANT380 focused on the Iranian Student Association at the University of Toronto, informally referred to as UTIRAN. My reasoning for selecting UTIRAN for my case study was not fundamentally tied to the organization itself, but rather, holistically speaking, stimulated by an aim to empirically demonstrate how co-ethnic community organizations … Continue reading
Weiwei Li One of the most challenging aspects of this fieldwork was recognizing how strongly my initial research question shaped what I expected to find. I entered the project with a clear interest in how Chinese Gen Z encounter censored or fragmented histories, but I also carried an assumption: that exposure to suppressed information would … Continue reading
Raine-Liette Blanchard Quick Sketch of Silent Space (the sound of a/c in the room reminded me of the river back home) Stashed away on the fourteenth floor of the University of Toronto’s most popular library; down confusing hallways, with uninviting concrete floors and cement walls, lies the East Asian Studies department. This was the location … Continue reading
Annabelle Chin Tomorrow, it will be over Words lost to time Our months will lay abandoned But the days they will be mine I joined for fleeting moments For the laughter through the pain The treasure was not glory But the friends we made along the way This is a poem I wrote to describe … Continue reading
Amelia Spong When I walk through the doors after being buzzed in, the station unfolds in front of me along one 100-foot-long hallway. Along the right side are my colleagues’ offices. Jacob and Dina share the big one, while Michelle gets her own mid-sized, although cluttered, space. To my left, a file cabinet stretches 9 … Continue reading
Jaelin Caverhill It is a bit of a weird experience, and continues to be, at least for me, to make eye contact with someone’s dick before them, but at Haven, nude bodies, explicit displays of sexuality, and undercurrents of desire are the norm. Porn plays on screens in almost every room, and it is not … Continue reading
Daniel Cross As you enter the bookstore, the sounds of the Bloor Street traffic fade away, replaced by the thick quiet of soft creaking footsteps and rustling pages. Its small interior is made even smaller by the stacks of books and boxes sitting in front of the huge shelves, leaving just enough space in the … Continue reading
Rosemary Morales Pongo I started this research out of curiosity from my personal observation of the time, affection, and money pet owners invest in their mascots. My ethnographic work focused on analyzing the emotional bonding between humans and animals. My field notes were the product of participant observation in a pet store, the home of … Continue reading
Mira El Achhab For my ethnography project, I chose the UofT Fanfiction Club as my research site and over the course of the semester attended weekly meetings that I participated in and took notes on, interviewed two executives from the club, and read a number of works relating to fan studies and fandom ethnographies. From … Continue reading
Ethnography Lab 