Obtain the following book as soon as possible:
Waterston, Alisse. Light in Dark Times: The Human Search for Meaning. University of Toronto Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781487508852. [Preview with Google Books].
Homework
Familiarize yourself with the Energy Ethnography project, which you will conduct over the course of the semester.
From the tangles of cords that we use to charge our devices and the buzzing background hum of air conditioners keeping our rooms cool, to MIT’s “zero-carbon campus of the future” pledge and the seemingly non-stop carbon-intensive construction projects happening in Kendall Square, energy-related objects, practices, narratives, and ethical quandaries saturate our lives and surroundings. This project tasks you with approaching energy from an anthropological, ethnographically-informed perspective, with the goal of illuminating how a particular aspect of energy is experienced, understood, and given meaning by people.
This assignment provides an opportunity for you to experiment with ethnographic research, a key mode of data collection, analysis, and knowledge production in the field of cultural anthropology. Ethnography is both a qualitative methodology for learning about different dimensions of social life through techniques like participant observation and interviewing AND a unique way of knowing and intervening in the world from a point of humility, curiosity, and openness—all of which are vital for the practice of anthro-engineering.
You will develop an “ethnographic sensibility” through close attention to a specific aspect of energy of your choosing. It must be something doable and practical for the fall term. Importantly, your energy ethnography must focus on another’s experience of energy, entailing you to talk with people and listen to them, place yourself in an unfamiliar context or contexts, and grapple with something that you may know nothing about (the less, the better!). Each ethnographic task is designed to help you see the object of your analysis from a different perspective. You will write up your energy ethnography as an essay. You will also give a presentation of your project to the class. During the semester, in-class updates and activities will stimulate alternative ways of approaching and analyzing your research material.
- Ethnographic Task #1 - Object Lesson due in week 8
- Ethnographic Task #2 - Participant Observation due in week 9
- Ethnographic Task #3 - Interviews due in week 11
For your final essay and presentation, you will synthesize and analyze your findings from the ethnographic tasks. You must incorporate at least two theories/concepts from our class material to help you make sense of your energy ethnography, such as exploring the roles of human agency, materiality, politics, power, social values, ideologies, and/or imaginaries.
