Project Space - The Autoethnography:

This project considers the cultural identity of a space. While space can be defined as
urban, community, public and personal, it may also be institutional (e.g. the university, a
hospital). We are interested in in how space shapes our conception of world, self, culture,
and other.
Project space requires that you do fieldwork (go beyond the classroom) and report on the
physical and cultural geographies/characteristics of a particular area or structure, the
virtual or material representation of that area or structure; and or the effects of a particular
area or structure on our understanding or culture, race, class, and gender (e.g., how your
space reflects a culture, identity, class etc.).
By definition, ethnography in a genre of writing that uses fieldwork to observe and
describe human societies. An autoethnography is when you incorporate yourself, your
own narrative, in your research to say something about the larger cultural setting by
exploring its sociocultural issues.
Essay #1 prompt
This essay requires that you identify and explore a space you call your own it could be
a personal, public and even institutional space. You are to address the following:
-Its physical characteristics as well as sociocultural issues and
elements (What ideologies, beliefs, values, or issues are
reflected by the physical space?)
- How does this space relate to your identity, culture, sense of
self and belonging?
-What barriers/boundaries (tangible/physical and intangible)
are present in your space?
-How do elements of your fieldwork compare or contrast from
your space?
-What have you learned about yourself, society and the
human condition overall, as a result of your external
fieldwork and internal reflection of self in relation to spaces.
-Please incorporate at least one of the class readings into your autoethnography.
Manuscript Notes: This essay should be 4 to 5 12pt. font Times New Roman,
double- spaced pages and calls for MLA documentation; you must include a
Works Cited page at the end of your essay. When you quote key phrases or clauses

from your text(s), you must provide in-text citation. Must have minimum 1 source
from class readings.