Ethnotale: Up Close and Personal

Tis’ the season for wishful thinking. That’s why here at ERI we have put together our holiday wish list of ethnographies we would just LOVE to undertake. Take a look, and if you think of something else that might be fun to study, just let us know!

1. Travelers by necessity, we would love to work on more projects related to travel or hospitality of some type. We really enjoyed the project we did for Brand Atlanta [check out a project summary in the notes/boxes tab on our facebook page]. Melinda would like to do any project that allows her to go to Spain [she has ALWAYS wanted to go]. Everyone at ERI is particularly interested in doing a project for one of the airlines or for TSA. We feel like we have a TON of useful information already and they could obviously benefit from some ethnographic research.

2. We would love to do something on HIV. Particularly Melinda, who would like to see how living HIV positive is different than it was when she did ethnography 14 years ago with the same population.

3. We really appreciate when we have the opportunity to do projects that are aimed at helping organizations improve how they serve populations in need. Any kind of project where we could help organizations improve the way they serve people living in poverty or help them better understand their clients is an A-plus!

4. We would love to do some more research on how moms take care of their kids around the world, looking at different cultural, social and historical influences on child care. We’d also like to learn more about baby traveling behaviors (stroller vs. sling vs. holding baby, etc.) How do people move about the city with their babies?

6. We would like to know more about how people conceptualize “entertaining others” and what that involves (food, wine, cocktails, music, etc.). How are people entertaining others and how do lifestyle differences impact their styles of entertainment?

7. We would love to explore the concept of relaxation. After all, our way of life has people super-busy and connected all the time, so what do they do to relax? How do they relax? We are ultimately hoping that this would lead to an ethnography on spa experiences!!!!!!

8. We’d like to revisit fast food and eating rituals outside the home. When is fast food a choice? How do people think about fast food? What defines it?

9. We’ve always been really interested in how people meet and fall in love. Now that internet dating sites are a real force in the dating world, we’d like to explore how internet dating impacts people’s lives around the formation of relationships and how it compares to some of the more traditional ways in which people meet, date and fall in love.

10. We would really love to do something for ESPN or other sports media outlets. There is so much variation and interest in sports and sports programming, and as our communities continue to grow in diversity, there’s an opportunity to really get to know the men, women and children who stay connected to the sports world [all over the world] to see where new opportunities lie. We’d like to learn more about sports fans and their rituals and behaviors in Europe vs. the U.S. too. For example, what do people do in preparation for games? Afterwards? Where and how do they watch games?