I would like for you to select a public place that you do not already frequent. This can be a site on campus (e.g., Bruin Walk or one of the various campus cafes), in Los Angeles (e.g., Venice Boardwalk or the Santa Monica Pier), or elsewhere (e.g., an open religious service or an open courtroom). I would like for you to spend at least an hour in this space, experiencing it in whatever capacity is appropriate.
Then, I would like for you to go home and write field notes describing the space, as per the excerpts from the Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw book. Some questions that you may ask include: How would you describe the space? Who is there (and who is not)? What literally and symbolically happens in the space? How do you see others? How do you see yourself being seen? How does this make you feel? Do you belong? Do you feel like an insider/outsider?
The goal here is to capture your impressions of a place at Time 1.
