On September 11, 2011, a new memorial, honoring those who perished in the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon ten years prior, officially opened to the public. One feature that makes this memorial so unique is that the structures erected to remember those victims are actually located in the foundation that the Twin Towers originally stood. Since then, the memorial, located in downtown Manhattan, has hosted thousands of guests, all who have come to witness and visit the space that has animated 21st century American history, politics, and identity. Here, this site will serve as the field to which I will be conducting my ethnographic research this semester. The subject of my research will focus on the question of how do society
…show more content…
The area is public (aka free), requires no need of permission from some authority figure, is accessible all times of the day, has non-human objects that people interact with, and of course, possesses a steady stream of people. As far as my strategy goes, I intend to visit the memorial on Saturdays between 11AM to 3PM. Google provides data, reflecting when the memorial is at its busiest and slowest hours and days of the week. During this specified times period, the memorial is supposedly the most crowded during the week, which will give me more people to observe and interact with. On occasion, I intend to go to the memorial at another less crowded time in order to compare if people interact with the memorial differently when the area is less crowded, where privacy may result in intimacy. In regards to establishing relationships with those there, my idea is to not only try to interview visitors (which I foresee as possibly being difficult) but to also interview people who work at the memorial such as police officers, tour guides, and custodial staff, who can serve as useful informants. Going at the same time consistently every week will hopefully expose me to regulars visiting or working there as well. With them as my eyes and ears while I am gone, they hopefully will be able to answer my questions with a fuller
The area is public (aka free), requires no need of permission from some authority figure, is accessible all times of the day, has non-human objects that people interact with, and of course, possesses a steady stream of people. As far as my strategy goes, I intend to visit the memorial on Saturdays between 11AM to 3PM. Google provides data, reflecting when the memorial is at its busiest and slowest hours and days of the week. During this specified times period, the memorial is supposedly the most crowded during the week, which will give me more people to observe and interact with. On occasion, I intend to go to the memorial at another less crowded time in order to compare if people interact with the memorial differently when the area is less crowded, where privacy may result in intimacy. In regards to establishing relationships with those there, my idea is to not only try to interview visitors (which I foresee as possibly being difficult) but to also interview people who work at the memorial such as police officers, tour guides, and custodial staff, who can serve as useful informants. Going at the same time consistently every week will hopefully expose me to regulars visiting or working there as well. With them as my eyes and ears while I am gone, they hopefully will be able to answer my questions with a fuller