Online Autoethnographic Research: Week 10

ONLINE AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

 https://youtu.be/Tc_bKQiOOdY

Like most people I use my online world everyday, for a large chunk of the day usually. My online world consists of mainly social media like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and some others but I also use video apps a lot such as Netflix  and YouTube especially since I don’t have access to a TV anymore now I’m at uni.

 

I now use things like FaceTime and WhatsApp a lot more to call my friends from home and also my family, so I can at least see their faces online until I can see them again in person which helps me stay connected. 

One of the most important apps I use is BBC News, keeping me connected and up to date with the rest of the world, without it I wouldn’t have access to lots of useful information. 

I’m quite the online shopper so I have many apps that I use instead of going out shopping, so therefore missing the whole process of buying clothes with it all being so accessible online, you don’t have to speak to anyone in a shop. 

 

Another overused app is my Spotify, which is very social in real life and online as you can see what your friends are listening to but can also put your playlist on when you’re with your friends. 

I also use my phone for practical things like checking train times or bus times and checking the weather, which is always useful as it connects the online world to the real world and I have the information before I arrive. 

The Use of a 'Tool': Week 9

THE USE OF A TOOL IN REFERENCE TO INGOLD'S EIGHT THEMES IN THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF TECHNOLOGY

 https://youtu.be/Tc_bKQiOOdY

https://youtu.be/Tc_bKQiOOdY

In these videos I use am using a frying pan to flip a pancake and also fry some halloumi. These actions link to Ingold’s Eight Themes in the Anthropology of Technology. I think the frying pan especially links to the themes of ‘Measuring Technological Complexity’ and also ‘The Evolution of Technology and its History’. 

The frying pan, a very simply manufactured tool, was made to aid the process of cooking which has always been essential in survival. 

The modern frying pan is not too dissimilar from one of the past as it has had the same function since its creation. As Ingold says the inventors would have had some conception over the task before them and would have understood the outcome. In this case the task was making a frying pan and the outcome was to ensure the meat was cooked and would not kill them. (The same reason we still use them today).  

The fact it is such a simple creation and has barely been altered nearly 3000 years later shows the practicality of the object and that humans are still very similar to how we were in the past as there has been room for adaptation however these adaptations have never strayed too far from the original design, therefore proving to be fairly primitive.  

Wendell Oswalt (1976) made a point in discovering the complexity of a tool. The way he defined this was using ‘techounits’. One technounit would be a physically distinct part which makes a specific contribution to the overall tool. 

Bibliography:

Ingold, T., 1997. Eight themes in the anthropology of technology. Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice, p.120-127

THE FORK: Week 8

 

I envisage a museum of British cultural history detailing (amongst other things) the use and evolution of the fork. 

The (not so) humble fork – simple to use and been around forever, or has it? 

 

The fork was only introduced into Europe, from the East, as late as C10th by, Theophanu, the wife of Byzantine Emperor Otto 2nd and spread throughout Italy until it was popularised and widespread some 400 years later, when dinner guests would bring their own special knife and fork with them to social events. 

 

However, as has occurred numerous times throughout our history and up to the present day, Britons were suspicious of our European neighbours’ customs, taking the attitude that they could ‘fork off’ with their unnecessary fancy and rather effeminate practices, with even the Roman Catholic Church branding them as excessive and an insult to God, when we had fingers for the lickin’ (and grabbing). 

 

Eventually, in the C18th, forks ( the Germany four-pronged variety, no doubt, in no small part, to our German monarchs that century) began to catch on in Britain (though not without competition from the Earl of Sandwich’s fiendish new fast-food trend). Early forks only had two or three prongs (‘tines’), so were good for securing meat in the competitive, communal, atmosphere of a pub but no good for scooping or soup. Up to this time a communal attitude to eating was still common, where diners would share a communal spoon, thus the introduction of the individual fork led to an increase in standards of hygiene. 

 

From then on, forks have enjoyed a wide-range of adaptations: the spork (like a mythical Greek creature, half spoon, half fork) was invented as early as C19th and has been popular with Scouts, Guides and the Military ever since and, no doubt, further innovations will evolve (eg from the existing battery powered version that automatically winds spaghetti onto itself). 

Ethnographic Account of Fieldtrip to Avebury: Week 7

FIELDTRIP TO AVEBURY

Avebury Henge is known for its Stone circle and as being ‘one of the greatest marvels in prehistoric Britain’, so prior to our visit we were excited to see if it would live up to its claims. It was mainly used in practices of religious ceremonies that would bring communities together, hence the vast sacred landscape.

We saw the stones and my first thought was how did they end up here? They were fairly large so would have required multiple people to carry them, which is evidence of teamwork from between 2850 BC and 2200 BC. 

Also noticing how they had been placed in a circle formation which would require discussion and communication which makes you think humans weren’t all that different, they still had to communicate with each other. 

On our explore round the area we ran into some of the locals (cows), who were just as intrigued by us as we were of them, turns out they like Careless Whisper by George Michael. 

We also found what is known as the wishing tree where people had tied ribbons to its roots in remembrance which displayed a modern example of humanity and showed just how many people had visited. 

(Taking in the surroundings)

We then finished off our day of exploring with a trip to the pub, (the only one in the surrounding area) and had a well-deserved drink. We also discussed the day we'd just had with the highlights mainly being the cows we came across on our walk round.