Architecture and Space Practical and the Consumption and Fashion Practical

every 2 weeks has one practical work, therefore 4 fieldwork diaries in total. I only know the first two titles for practicals, and the rest 2 of them will come soon. the maximum number of words is 750, the actual number should be below 750, the lowest word count is 10% which is 675 words. try to not to use any references, due to this is a fieldwork diary, it's the individual's work. and it only has 750 maximum, if add references then the details of explaining methodology will be less. I have decided on the first topic of the fieldwork diary, I need to contact with writer all the time. And all the work should be based on my thoughts.
tips: the second topic could be back to the itinerary， experience, mental values. most importantly!!!: Not the theory on art
the meaning of fieldwork diary:
Each thematic topic will include a practical method that the students will engage in through small fieldwork exercises, undertaken in the second week of each two-week topic block. These practical methods, in combination with the theoretical themes and literature explored in the first week of each topic block, will be written up throughout the term within the student’s “field reports”.
The field reports will include both descriptions of the fieldwork completed alongside the student’s critical reflections on the topic. They do not need to be written in a traditional academic manner however do need to be clear and critical. They must refer back to the theoretical ideas learnt in the prior week. They can include a range of media in order to best explain and explore the fieldwork undertaken and can be produced in any digital format the student thinks best (from an Instagram account, a Tumblr, a website, to a more traditional power-point presentation). Over the term, the students will thus gain a range of both theoretical and methodological skills. Together, these will build toward the final Object Analysis assessment.
the feedback from my last work:
Improvements would be to expand upon each entry by thinking critically upon theory and methodology to support the arguments presented by the writer and address the fieldwork entry questions.
Topic 1: Architecture & Space Practical
What is a building?
In this exercise, we will look at buildings with curiosity and attention, exploring their biography, their materials, their surroundings, their use. We will use resources from the well-established literature on the home, but also look towards the anthropology of infrastructure, in order to combine the micro descriptions of living environments with the macro issues surround utilities provisioning and social inequality, maintenance and repair. The literature provided speaks particularly to domestic buildings, but please feel free to choose a different kind of building if you prefer doing so.
Learning Outcomes
· Learn how to collect ethnographic data about the life of a building (with focus on observation, atmosphere, and materials
· Learn how to retrieve rich background information to contextualise your experience of the building: historical documents, local newspapers, decoration magazines, policy documents, etc.
· Learn how to film/ photograph a building: what to focus on, how to compose your images, how to combine your material in a visual portrait
· Learn how to use your research material in a concise piece of writing, utilising creative ways to utilise your visual data
Fieldwork Preparation
During the lectures, I will share my research process with you and share a wide range of research material: field notes, photographs, archival material, architectural drawings, my film, etc. This will hopefully encourage you to think broadly about how you can learn about a building and will give you new ideas (it is in no way an ideal model). We will discuss Step 1 and 2 in detail, but for now here are the core ideas:
· Identify a building you are interested in, inside/ around which you can spend at least one hour analysing the surroundings [we can discuss choices of buildings in class]
· Take down detailed notes of your observation (reserve at least twice the amount of time for writing after your visit), focusing on the space and the people using it, but also on your own experience
· Photograph your surroundings: whole building, building details (door, window, walls, gardens, benches, etc), photograph people using the space (ask for permission if possible or wait for them to pass if them seem uncomfortable). If you find your presence to be intrusive, please don’t worry too much about the photographs (you can try to make drawings for instance)
· Find out as much as possible about the building and the neighbourhood from the local library or whichever archive might be most accessible – ask residents for materials if you have the occasion, but also look up sources online: London is a well-documented city!
Tutorial Session:
Share your findings to the class in a brief presentation
Discuss your experiences in groups of four and help each other plan the writing process
Share your ideas on how you would write up your findings, with particular focus on the use of images
Recommended monographs | The study of buildings across the world
These excellent ethnographic monographs illustrate the contribution that anthropology can make to the study of architecture and the built environment. I do not expect you to read them for class, but they could be instrumental in your writing, depending on your topic and area of interest.
Country
Title
Russia
Buchli, V. (1999). An archaeology of socialism. Oxford: Berg.
Japan
Daniels, I. (2010). The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home. Bloomsbury Academic.
Hungary
Fehérváry, K. (2013). Politics in Color and Concrete - Socialist Materialities and the Middle Class in Hungary. Indiana University Press.
USA
Fennell, C. (2015). Last Project Standing: Civics and Sympathy in Post-Welfare Chicago. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Spain
Leivestad, H. H. (2018). Caravans: Lives on Wheels in Contemporary Europe. London: Bloomsbury.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jansen, S. (2015). Yearnings in the Meantime: Normal Lives and the State in a Sarajevo Apartment Complex. London: Benghahn Books.
Brazil
Holston, James. (1989). The Modernist City: An Anthropological Critique of Brasília. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
UK
Koch, I. (2018). Personalizing the State: An Anthropology of Law, Politics, and Welfare in Austerity Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
China
Li, J. (2015). Shanghai Homes: Palimpsests of Private Life. New York: Columbia University Press.
Germany
Van der Hoorn, E. (2009). Indispensable Eyesores: An Anthropology of Undesired Buildings. London: Benghahn Books.
Topic 2: Consumption & Fashion Practical
This exercise is about developing an ‘experience journey’ around imagining, buying, and wearing clothes. As we have seen, there are many different tools we might use to explore consumption from different angles: we might look at the social life of an object if we wanted to look at the material culture of values, we might look at the consumption of images if we wanted to understand relationships of desire, we might interview one person about their shopping rationalities if we wanted to mis-represent them as “a typical consumer”. Contemporary consumption is problematic to research because it is changing very fast, and there is an institutional crisis in which companies which make, market and sell fashion and other products feel totally at sea. The old ways in which people used to go shopping, their routines and rituals of purchasing, no longer apply. The circulation of objects, images, money and other artefacts is being entirely transformed by a range of “crises”: environmental, digital, residential, emotional. So the older notions and imaginations of a predictable set of shopping routines, set out as a familiar sequence, no longer always applies.
Learning Outcomes:
You will discover some of the difficulties and excitements of doing ethnographic work on consumption, in which the world of possible objects to talk about is immense.
You will become familiar with a 'social life' approach to consumption, in which objects do not have intrinsic social qualities, but are understood to move through many social contexts and states, so that culture, value and identity emerge around their movement and transformation.
You will explore the specific cultural idea that 'objects' and 'experiences' can be mutual transformations of one another in contemporary consumption.
Pre-tutorial work: ( doesn't matter, just put here to understanding of the topic)
The notion of the experience journey is a loose framework for thinking about the emergence of “new normals” in consumption, and about the idea of the “experience economy”, which has been predominant for about the past 20 years. We saw in Timothy De Malefyt’s paper how nowadays marketing uses anthropological methods to appreciate contexts, emotions, and relationships. He gave the example of a fast food company which does not just think about the rationality of why somebody buys their product, but about the construction of an “eating experience”. He sketches a simple experience journey, which you can use as a reference point.
1. Get introduced to a friend of a friend, in order to research an article of clothing. (interviewing friends is never as rich a conversation as meeting somebody new) You could if you wish decide on a kind of clothing in advance to ask about, according to what interests you (eg. jeans, trainers, sports, wetsuit, party dress, hat, raincoat, traditional, high-tech fabric, etc…)
2. Talk with them about one of their articles of clothing. It could be what you decided on, or it could be a favourite of theirs.
3. Consider the different stages of their experience around buying and using this clothing. What was it like buying it? (or obtaining it if they did not buy it) Before they got it, what led up to that? Did they have images in mind, or see images of it? What moments have happened when wearing it? Do they have stories about it?
4. Consider the clothing itself. Describe it. What kinds of form, qualities, properties and materials characterise it? Does it have distinguishing features? What is it like to wear?
5. Now translate this material into an understanding of the ‘experience’ for the wearer. For example, football boots are really about the experience of playing football; a work outfit might be about the experience of your job. When used, clothing comes to be an almost unconscious part of our experiences.
6. Sketch an “Experience journey” which illustrates for somebody else what it is like wearing this article in your understanding. Identify key moments in this journey, for example transformations, problems, satisfactions, and highlights. These can tell you what the clothing is doing and achieving in relation to the person, as well as what it obstructs.
For your Fieldwork Diary:
Set out a description of the clothing you chose to focus on. Draw on the ethnography to present something of the context, how your informant understands the clothing and what it means to them.
Set out your 'experience journey'.
Describe what this clothing 'does' for your informant. What difference does the specific material thing make in how they see themselves, their everyday experiences, and ways of engaging with the world of goods. What cultural ideas does the material clothing help construct and make 'normal'?
to the writer: Hii
I have chosen St pauls cathedral as my first practical, if you wanna have a look at the work please let me know and send it to you.
For the second one, I'm still thinking of it, cause it needs to interact with one (friends or someone else) you chose, and I have come out that freedom of clothing is different in UK and China. Also, may talk about something related to gender.....
Thank you.
I have chosen St pauls cathedral as my first practical, if you wanna have a look at the work please let me know and send it to you.
For the second one, I'm still thinking of it, cause it needs to interact with one (friends or someone else) you chose, and I have come out that freedom of clothing is different in UK and China. Also, may talk about something related to gender.....
Hii,
the following is feedback from the last fieldwork diary, the most important is linking back to lecture (ppt) and readings (pdf)
thank you
Object Entry:
This is a good entry which uses sensory methodology to explore the ecology, manufacture and use of the object. The writer discusses how the object could potentially be used, its emotional links and how the object was crafted. A couple of suggestions would be to write more descriptively of the sensory methods used rather than focusing on emotional and aesthetic aspects of the object; additionally articulating the sensory observations would allow the reader to understand how certain conclusions were made (such as being an environmentally friendly object). Overall, good work.

Museum Entry:
This is an interesting analysis of how museum objects can be repatriated and re-contextualized/narrated so that visitors are able to understand the context of the object; additionally, the writer also clearly links the objects from Wk1 & 2. however, this entry would benefit from expanding upon module themes (through readings/lectures) to discuss: how the object was displayed (physical/digital, what did the museum labels exclude/include, theoretical/methodological ideas, etc.) in order to support arguments about future curatorial displays. Overall, good work which reflected on the cultural importance of objects and the need to contextualize them.

Art Entry:
This exhibition was an interesting exploration into ideas of faith, art and aesthetics; additionally, the curatorial text guided the visitor towards critically thinking about the overall theme. Improvements to this entry would be to articulate clearly the link between the objects (faith, female
body/aesthetics, anime/value) and to discuss in depth the relationship between art & anthropology (art/artefact, display, etc). Overall, a very interesting exhibition.
Image Entry:
This was a very good analysis of the limitations and potential certain social media platforms create. Additionally, the writer discusses how users need to be creative with posts (aesthetics and hashtags/captions) to engage with viewers. Improvements would be to critically engage with readings/lectures how images are transformed, altered, become problematic and to think about the local context of the platform chosen. however, this entry critically discusses how platforms use censoring which can limit content as well as providing a safe space for certain users.
Overall, this was a well presented fieldwork diary that thoughtfully engaged with module themes. Improvements would be to expand upon each entry by thinking critically upon theory and methodology to support the arguments presented by the writer and address the fieldwork entry questions. however, this was an interesting and engaging diary, good work. No Filtered