RJ 26

My preparations for WA5 are coming along, slowly but surely. I am focusing on WA5 first, and then I will move into my online portfolio. I have already made my portfolio and added all the necessary pages. It is now a matter of filling it in and making it perfect! My WA5 is rough so far, I feel like I have a lot of questions on it. What confuses me is that I thought we were supposed to do a written research portfolio, so I have a three-ring binder filled with all my organized information. Then I found out it is an online portfolio, and I do not know yet how I am going to translate my information from written form to online in the format that Dr. Carter wants. I am working extremely hard and will be glad when this project is over! I feel like I never put it down. I do not need to worry about not having enough sources for WA5, I think I have well over 25. This makes my life easier when writing the final ethnography, but it makes it harder when I have to write annotations for all of them for WA5. The work will be worth it. I am overwhelmed at this point. I feel as though there is so much to be done and not enough time to do it in. All of my other classes have tests and finals I need to get ready for as well. So these next two weeks will probably be a living hell. Another question I came across is how do I cite a set of fieldnotes? or a research journal? To complete a draft of my Research Portfolio by Friday at noon, I need to get WA5 done, create an abstract, fill in the pages for research tools, artifacts, research journal, and my WAs. This sounds like so much to do in two days! I need to figure out how to link all of my material to it. If I have it saved in a word document on my computer, is there any way I can link it to that? Or do I have to upload it to the internet in order to link it? I am focusing on WA5 and my research portfolio for now, but then I will move into an outline of my final project. I already have a few ideas on how I want to organize it. I have a visual aid in mind for my presentations as well. I have plenty of information to compute data from, it is just a matter of organizing my data into a paper that is easy to follow, enjoyable to read, and has a good format. I plan to keep chugging through the hard times and make my way out on top! Positive attitudes have a lot of power, as does prayer!

Add a comment December 2, 2009

RJ 25

SO much is here! I have a filled research portfolio. Nine interview scripts complete with side fieldnotes, eleven sets of fieldnotes (post-ited and coded), numerous artifacts, permission slips, and the like. I feel so complete now that my research is over and I can compile my data and draw conclusions to develop a full, rich ethnographic project. My portfolio clearly shows the amount of time I have put into the research. Each fieldnote set covers at least an hour and a half of time, and each interview was between 30 minutes and two hours. I have spent a lot of time developing those, expanding them, post-iting them, and coding them. I hope they yield a fabulous final project, as I am sure they will. While coding my many pages of research, I came up with many codes and reoccurring themes. This society isn’t pleased with rules, restrictions, and boring masses. They strive for entertaining and instant gratification. Catholicism may restrict such secularism. People cannot do just whatever they want. The 10 Commandments are LAWS of the church, not mere SUGGESTIONS. Some of my artifacts enrich my study, while others do not expand my research. I think I have reached a level of saturation enough so that I can compile my data. I have indicated below my final updated codebook, with 20+ codes that are evident throughout my research.

Codebook:

CP: from a Catholic Perspective; this needs to be clarified because I am getting viewpoints from both Catholics and Non-Catholics.
NP: from a Non-Catholic Perspective; this needs to be clarified because I am getting viewpoints from both Catholics and Non-Catholics.
LK: Lack of knowledge; this is a main cause of Catholic discrimination.
Rit: Ritualistic; this is a main point of discrimination.
TD:  Tradition; this is one of the three prongs of the leadership of the church (the other two being scripture and the magisterium). Most other churches rely more on scripture than tradition, but our old tradition that has been passed down account for why our church is ritualistic and old in format.
Comm: Community; the small-town community of St. Joe’s is so welcoming and friendly. This describes the people of the town.
Env: Environment; this describes the environment that the Catholics create at St. Joe’s in masses and Bible studies. The environment has a huge impact on my research.
CinE: Christ in Eucharist; this is a concept many don’t understand, and therefore a cause of discrimination. Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.
Bel: Belonging; this is a main reason people flock to the church, CSO, and Bible studies. They enjoy a sense of belonging and a comfortable zone to share information.
ST: Strict; Many people describe Catholicism as too strict with many rules. It is a reason for discrimination.
EX: Explanation; this shows up many times in my fieldnotes when the Bible study leader or the campus minister explained an aspect of our faith or a mass reading.
Char: Character; I used this to indicate when I was describing the members of CSO in my fieldnotes.
CON: Confession; this raises many problems and controversy, and causes discrimination.
P: Papal authority (the Pope); many people think we worship him. This is a cause for discrimination.
M: Mary, Mother of God; people think we put too much emphasis on her and “worship” her as well. This is a problem for discrimination.
R: Rosary; this is a wonderful, meditative prayer. It is misunderstood and a cause of discrimination.
S: Saints; Many people also think we worship the saints and put them in high regards. This is a cause of discrimination. In reality, they intercede for us. There is a difference between worship and intercession.
CSO: Catholic Student Organization; this organization is open to any college student wishing to acquire faith knowledge and fellowship through events and Bible studies.
BS: Bible Study; this occurs on Wednesday nights after mass. We meet and eat and share in Bible readings from the mass the following Sunday. It enriches our faith, fills our tummies, and allows us to discuss the readings and other faith (or non-faith) matters.
Pur: Purpose; I used this is my fieldnotes to when I explained why certain events occurred.
MED: Media; this is a main form of transportation of discrimination. The media tends to blow things out of proportion. Any small discriminatory factor can be blown up to a huge deal through the media.
Ent: Entertainment; So many people today strive to be entertained and seek fulfillment through this. People who truly understand their Catholic religion appreciate the mass and find it rewarding. Others see the mass as boring and old; these people are never satisfied unless entertainment is provided.
Mat: Materialistic; many people think the Catholic church is materialistic and rich due to the big, lavish churches. They think we get wrapped up in the money issues.
Att: Attitude; attitudes are contagious, and I see this within the members of the church and CSO.
Rel: Relation to current time; this is used in my fieldnotes when at Bible studies they always relate the Bible readings to current themes that we can relate to, and it is so much easier to understand once they put it into a perspective we can understand.
Phy: Physical religion; Catholicism is a “physical” religion. It is sensual; it applies to the senses. We touch the holy water. We eat the Body and Blood of Christ. We tell the priests of our sins (Confession). We see the consecration. God knows we interpret things through all our senses, so he uses that to the church’s advantage. He allows us to really get involved using everything we have.

These codes should explain some recurring themes in my research and main topics of my project!

Add a comment December 2, 2009

RJ 24

Chapter 8 in FieldWorking:  Chapter 8 talks about ways to develop your first draft. I think I am more of the type to use categories I have arranged in my portfolio rather than spread everything out on the floor. I can definitely use all of my interviews – I need to begin looking for quotes I want to site from them or particular information relevant to my study. I agree that collecting appropriate data is the most important part of creating a working first draft. I have so much data that it can be overwhelming, and if I were to include all of this data into my project, it for one would be extremely long, and two, it wouldn’t portray my points as clearly and vividly as I want them to come off. The down draft will be the hardest, but I think things will soar when that is done. I will be doing lots of revising to make my final ethnography well-written. There will be a lot of questioning, drafting, re-questioning, and redrafting. Through the example provided, I can see that the questions we have been using to develop a fieldnote analysis (what surprised/intrigued/disturbed me?) can help the writer understand his/her positions on the research. To help turn my writings from draft to a “thick description,” I will need to look at a new set of questions: What’s going on here? (descriptive questions of my data, informant’s rituals and routines and interaction), Where’s the culture? (description of language practices, place observations, background research, and artifacts), and What’s the story? (My informants perspective along with my own). I think these questions are going to be harder to answer. Reading Chapter 8 calmed my nerves somewhat. The first attempt at writing a draft doesn’t have to be perfect, and revision can always be done. I find rest in the fact that I can always go back and fix it until I get it to where I want it. As for my plans for my final ethnographic project, I want to find certain themes to have a subheadings that flow together nicely, a nice outline. I have collected pictures throughout my research process, and I think it would be interesting to see how I can incorporate them in my final project. My final project will be text-based with many arguments stemming from numerous interviews.
Annotated Table of Contents:

1. Artifacts
   a.CSO/Catholic Church announcement card provided for students at a booth at orientation: This is a card that I got at orientation after signing up for CSO. It provides two prayers, mass times, and general church information, including contact information. It also has a small section that explains what CSO is and its purpose.
   b. Handouts after mass: I have seven sets of the handouts they give after mass. This is where all announcements go. It lists mass times and has sections for your own reading. It has “Responding to God’s Word” sections that help you deepen the understanding of your faith at home, encouraging Catholics to be practicing Catholics and not just go to mass every Sunday and call it good.
   c. Hot dog cookout handout: This handout was for the first CSO event, one of which I could not attend due to soccer. It was a hot dog cookout that got all the members together for fellowship and fun. They talked about what they wanted to accomplish this year through CSO. It has the purpose of the CSO on it, as well as time, date, and location for the hot dog cookout. It has “A College Student’s Prayer” on the reverse side with a picture of the St. Joe’s and contact information, mass times, Confession times, and a small map that indicates where the church is in relation to the One Stop Shop and the Sam Rayburn Student Center.
   d. Chi Alpha card: This was handed out at Bible study. A few of the boys were urging more CSO members to go to this Christian group on Tuesday nights. They really enjoy the worship and fellowship (people) there, and invited all to attend.
   e. Bible Study handout: This handout states the readings we will be going over in Bible study that night, and has a quote at the bottom pertaining to the reading. There is also space on this for students to take notes throughout the night. It was made and handed out by Veronica Juarez, our Bible study leader.
   f. Parish Registration Form: This is the form you would fill out to become a member of the parish. It is all simple information about the members of your family.
   g. Parish Directory pictures reminder handout: This handout has a place to put the time/date/location you signed up for to take pictures for the parish directory. Olan Mills will be taking the pictures at no charge to the parishioners. It has contact information if you had any questions about the pictures or need to reschedule.
   h. “Faith Beyond the In-Crowd”: This is a letter written by archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York that Father George e-mailed to me. It is so rich with information about people today that once belonged to the Catholic church but were pushed away. It will be very useful to my study, as it is a recent letter (dated July 16, 2009).
   i. The Constitution of CSO, also known as the Newman Club: This six-paged constitution lays out all the rules and guidelines of CSO. It lists eight articles and each article has different sections. It is well-organized and handed out to each member of CSO at a Bible study. The Newman Club (currently CSO) was founded by Cardinal Newman, and the purpose of the group is also stated.
2. Fieldnotes and Expanded Fieldnotes
   This section includes all eleven sets of fieldnotes. All of them are from masses and Wednesday night Bible studies. I have eight interviews in here, complete with written side notes on them, as well as post-its. My Commerce Week on Writing fieldnotes are also in this section. They are laid out chronologically, so the interviews are intertwined in the fieldnotes.
3. Permission Slips
   This section includes the signed permission slips of all my interviewees. Behind the permission slips, I have included the list of questions I asked each interviewee.
4. Writing Assignments
   This section includes all my revised writing assignments thus far.
   a. WA1: “From Competition to Success”
   b. WA2: Catholic Revelations
   c. WA3: Catholic Discrimination
   d. WA4: Life with Veronica Juarez
5. Research Journals
   This section has my all of research journals in it, in chronological order.

One-Page Analysis: Up until now, I have conducted eight interviews and acquired more than six sets of fieldnotes, all from CSO meetings and Bible studies, or fieldnotes on the interviews. I have one last interview scheduled for Monday, November 30, 2009. With the culmination of this interview, I think I will have enough information to draw some striking conclusions. Some recurring themes that I have already picked out include the misconceptions about the Catholic faith from a non-Catholic and Catholic point of view. The source of faulty information seems to come from uneducated Catholics. Catholics are the ones presenting the faith to other denominations. If Catholics are uneducated and present their faith incorrectly, they are giving false impressions to other people that judge our religion. People may not want to become a part of Catholicism because they have seen how Catholics act and don’t want to be a part of that activity, when in fact, that isn’t what Catholicism is about at all. A huge theme that I see over and over again is the need for entertainment. This stems mostly from non-Catholic people, but even one Catholic I interviewed found the mass boring. The mass isn’t meant for entertainment. Many people in this day and age long to be entertained and therefore seek a religion that will provide Sunday mornings with vibrant songs and fun worship. I believe if one truly knew what was occurring at the mass, they would be just as, if not more, compelled to go to the Catholic mass as one that is hopping with rad music. One interviewee said they played rock music at her church. Of course, it was Christian rock music, but I had never heard of such a thing. She also said the only reason she goes to church is because her best friend is really religious, and she finds the music enjoyable. There is a line between going to church for your own eternal salvation and going to church for entertainment. Being the oldest religion, Catholicism is based upon tradition and is very ritualistic. Some argue that it is easy to be a Catholic if that is how you were brought up, but if you get thrown into a mass after you have been brought up, say Baptist, that it will have no meaning and be boring. Many people say the religion is too strict and has way too many rules. People these days just want to do what they want, when they want, and how they want. They agree together that their faith is important to them because they believe in eternity. My question then is, why are you now focused on eternity now? Why wouldn’t you behave on earth how God wants us to so that your eternal reward is great? I thought it was interesting that they all said Catholicism has too many rules. I have been a Catholic all my life, and I haven’t felt bound by any rules. In this case, there are many laws that govern us daily, as are there many ethical rules you should live by. I still feel free. If I break a law, I will pay the price, just as if I break a so-called “rule,” I will pay that price with God. Interviewing these people was very fun because for thirty minutes to two hours I got to get in their world and mindset. Diversity is everywhere, and I think my project shows a wide range of religious diversity. I interviewed Father George, and that was very interesting. The parish of St. Joe’s is old and the origin fascinated me. It started when a railroad came through Commerce, then known as Cowhill. Once the population started to develop, one of the families that came here for the railroad decided the town needed to have mass, and so the mother opened her home for masses. A priest would come in from other towns, and a small community of people would gather in this home. The masses would grow and then subside, depending on what was going on with the town. In 1955, a building was set up on Cooper and Monroe as the Catholic church. It became a parish with a full-time pastor in 1979, and new renovations have just been completed for the new circular structure. I thought this history was interesting. From a small home to a church, and still growing. Next, I need to interview Dr. Joe Webber, campus minister for St. Joe’s. I have this interview set up for Monday, November 30. I think he will give me the final insights I need to draw strong conclusions. He is studying to become a deacon, so he is very wise in knowledge of the church. I am excited for the results of this interview. I also need to code my entire research portfolio one last time before I sit down to make a first draft. This will freshen my memory of all the information I have collected and help me to put my thoughts into words. After the interview, I will begin to draw conclusions and find a way to present those in an orderly fashion for my final project.

4. Codebook:
CP: from a Catholic Perspective
NP: from a Non-Catholic Perspective (These need to be evident because I am getting viewpoints from both Catholics and Non-Catholics.
LK: Lack of knowledge (a main reason for discrimination)
Rit: Ritualistic (reason for discrimination)
TD: Tradition (a main prong of the Catholic faith)
OLD: A reason why the church is so ritualistic; It is the oldest religion around.
CinE: Christ in Eucharist (a concept many don’t understand, and therefore a cause of discrimination)
CON: Confession (raises problems and discrimination)
P: papal authority-aka, the Pope. (many people think we worship him- cause for discrimination)
M: Mary, Mother of God (people think we put too much emphasis on her and “worship” her as well, problem for discrimination)
CSO: Catholic Student Organization
BS: Bible Study
MED: Media, a main form of transportation of discrimination

Add a comment November 24, 2009

RJ 23

Open topic: I would like to take this open topic opportunity to reflect somewhat on the work I have already done as well as lay out future plans for my research. I did my first interview with a non-Catholic on Tuesday, and some of the answers I heard were astounding to me. This person was a member of a Christian church, and but he stated that he really had respect for Catholics. He personally has never discriminated against Catholics, but he thinks people view Catholics as “drinkers.” He has heard people say they want to join the Catholic church so they can drink. This is far-fetched and I have never came upon this before, but nonetheless, I thought it was very interesting. This man is a very Christian person and values his faith. The next man I interviewed, a senior here, was also non-Catholic but he doesn’t go to church. He has an interesting background that contributes to the way his thinks. He is from LA, California, so he is very open and used to diversity. He went to a Catholic high school and when asked if he would ever consider becoming a Catholic, he said NO, it’s not for me, it’s too strict, there are too many guidelines. This is stereotypical of the religion. It is often said to be too strict. He loves his faith but likes not going to church and having NO rules imposed upon him. He is a free bird. He describes the Catholic faith as unpractical. He does agree with Catholics on some issues, including Confession. He said confession is a great, great thing. He paralleled confession with counseling. When you have problems, you go to a counselor to talk about them, get them off your chest, and feel better. When you have sins, you go to a priest and confess them, get them off your chest, and feel better. I thought that was an awesome parallel, although we as Catholics do not go to confession for counseling purposes, but that is definitely an added bonus. I interviewed the president of CSO as well. He has some interesting insights- he hasn’t been a victim of Catholic discrimination. I am finding out all sorts of things! He said yes, discrimination is out there, but none of it is serious, or at least none that he has encountered. He likes the small church atmosphere and welcoming environment. I could agree with him on this one, as the welcoming environment of St. Joe’s appears many times in my fieldnotes from masses and Bible studies. I found it weird that he hadn’t ran into any discrimination. While pondering this, I wondered if he hadn’t because most of the people he hangs out with the most or associates with are Catholics. He agreed that most all of his friends here in Commerce and back home are Catholic, and therefore, I can conclude that is a reason he hasn’t been exposed to discrimination due to his religion. Our Bible study on Wednesday took a different twist. Veronica was taking care of a sick child, so Dr. Joe ran it. He read one of his deaconate papers to us, almost like a story time. I enjoyed it and learned a lot, but it was more of a teacher-student setting than a friend-friend conversational setting like we are used to with Veronica. It was a nice change of pace though. Dr. Joe is a truly remarkable man. As for future plans, I am interviewing Father George today along with my last non-Catholic interviewee. That only leaves my one for interview, Dr. Joe, and I have an appointment on November 30 with him. It will be very interesting to get a few more perspectives and start to draw some conclusions. I am excited to see what the final project will look like. My portfolio is coming along wonderfully as well.

Add a comment November 19, 2009

RJ 22

RJ 22

I am well on my way with this project. My WA4 is nearly completed, and I have done three out of nine interviews. I have two more scheduled for this week, so by the end of this week I will have over half of my interviews done. I am learning so much about the different perspectives people have. I still continue to take fieldnotes every Wednesday at Bible study and mass, along with the little fieldnotes I take while interviewing people. The only questions I have were regarding my codebook, but I think I have it figured out, and I think that more codes may arise as I continue to do interviews. All I need is support and encouragement! J

Updated Annotated Table of Contents:

1. Artifacts
   a.CSO/Catholic Church announcement card provided for students at a booth at orientation: This is a card that I got at orientation after signing up for CSO. It provides two prayers, mass times, and general church information, including contact information.
   b. Handouts after mass: I have five sets of the handouts they give after mass. This is where all announcements go. It lists mass times and has sections for your own reading. It has “Responding to God’s Word” sections that help you deepen the understanding of your faith at home.
   c. Hot dog cookout handout: This handout was for the first CSO event, one of which I could not attend due to soccer. It was a hot dog cookout that got all the members together for fellowship and fun. They talked about what they wanted to accomplish this year through CSO.
   d. Chi Alpha card: This was handed out at Bible study. A few of the boys were urging more CSO members to go to this Christian group on Tuesday nights.
   e. Bible Study handout: This handout states the readings we will be going over in Bible study that night, and has a quote at the bottom pertaining to the reading. There is also space on this for students to take notes throughout the night.
   f. Parish Registration Form: This is the form you would fill out to become a member of the parish.
   g. Parish Directory pictures reminder handout: this handout has a place to put the time/date you signed up for to take pictures for the parish directory. Olan Mills will be taking the pictures at no charge to the parishioners.
   h. “Faith Beyond the In-Crowd” : This is a letter written by a bishop that Father George e-mailed to me. It is so rich with information about people today that once belonged to the Catholic church but were pushed away. It will be very useful to my study, as it is a recent letter (dated July 16, 2009).
2. Fieldnotes and Expanded Fieldnotes: This section includes all of my many sets of fieldnotes. Most of them are from masses, and Wednesday night Bible studies. I have one interview (Veronica Juarez) in here, and my Commerce Week on Writing fieldnotes are also in this section. I have interviews with Brittney Yager and Carlos Robles as well. These interviews are so interesting and provide me with tons of information.
3. Permission Slips: This section includes the permission slips of all my interviewees (some of them are not completed, but the ones I have interviews set up for are!)
4. Writing Assignments: Up to now, this section has my revised WA1, WA2, and WA3. This will be where all of my writing assignments go.
5. Research Journals: I have RJs 1-21 in here. It is all very organized!

Summary: Throughout my research in interviews I have found many interesting facts. I would like to start with an artifact I had e-mailed to me by Father George. This was a letter written by a bishop this past July about how one of the biggest groups in American society today is “ex-Catholics.” It pretty much tells a story about him, but it provides some good info. I interviewed two CSO students, one male – Carlos Robles, and one female – Brittney Yager. I was shocked to find that Brittney hasn’t been confirmed yet and she is more of a person that goes to mass on their own, whereas Carlos has rich history in the Catholic church, especially since he was born in Mexico. They both value their faith and enjoy CSO and Bible studies so much. They both like the fact that Bible study gives us a “sense of belonging.” There were common answers on many of the questions I asked them. Carlos kept saying people misunderstand our love for Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, and the saints. He said people think we worship Mary and the saints. In reality, we ask for their intercession on our behalf, they are helping us grow closer to God and eventually get closer to Heaven. Brittney was confused on the belief of Confession. When I asked her about it, she said that’s the ONLY thing about our faith that she doesn’t really agree with, but she just does it because that’s what we’re supposed to do. I was shocked by this. I didn’t know that so many Catholics didn’t know the reasons they do what they do. Veronica Juarez was so correct in her statement that the uneducated Catholics are the biggest threat to the church, they are portraying our faith, and if they are doing so incorrectly, others get the wrong ideas and that is where misconceptions and judgments occur. All three of my interviewees have been victims of discrimination due to their Catholic religion. I get the feeling that no one really takes too personal. Many words offend the Catholics, but they said they never hesitate to correct someone that doesn’t know what they are talking about. Many arguments that arise about Catholicism are from uneducated people that think they know what they are talking about when they really don’t. I thought it was interesting that Carlos said that he has been discriminated against much more here in the U.S. than in Mexico, where he was born into a Catholic community. This makes sense because the diversity of our religion here poses more potential for tiffs among them. I plan on interviewing Tyler Lokey, a male Baptist student. I can’t wait to do my first non-Catholic interview and get a NC perspective! I think these will really lead me to see what exactly it is that makes people think the way they do about Catholicism. Finally, an overriding theme in all my interviews was the history of the church and its tradition, which then translates into our ritualistic mass. The rituals we do at mass may seem odd, but the mass is an old thing. We aren’t (shouldn’t) be going to mass to be entertained. Many people stray from the church do to boringness, no entertainment on Sundays, or better youth programs at other churches. They fail to recognize the meaning of the mass, and the meaning that has been passed down through tradition. We are the oldest religion here on Earth, and everyone else branched from us. There is a reason we have stayed alive this long. Only time will reveal what fun facts I will unravel next! (P.S. my portfolio is filling up and becoming so awesome! I am excited for the final project!)

Updated Codebook:
CP: from a Catholic Perspective
NP: from a Non-Catholic Perspective (These need to be evident because I am getting viewpoints from both Catholics and Non-Catholics.
LK: Lack of knowledge (a main reason for discrimination)
Rit: Ritualistic (reason for discrimination)
CinE: Christ in Eucharist (a concept many don’t understand, and therefore a cause of discrimination)
CON: Confession (raises problems and discrimination)
P: papal authority-aka, the Pope. (many people think we worship him- cause for discrimination)
M: Mary, Mother of God (people think we put too much emphasis on her and “worship” her as well, problem for discrimination)
CSO: Catholic Student Organization
BS: Bible Study
MED: Media, a main form of transportation of discrimination

Add a comment November 19, 2009

RJ 21

With my WA4, I took off with text. I interviewed Veronica Juarez, our Bible study leader. She always teaches us new things about our faith in Bible study, and she’s extremely well-educated, so I thought I would start with her. Our 1.5 hour interview went lovely, and I got loads of information. I typed her answers as she said them, but didn’t record the interview on audio. I am not good with technology, and I think a text version would benefit my project as a whole better. I typed her answers in an organized way that shows everything we talked about, but tried also to put the reader into the scene at the interview by incorporating scenery and settings (somewhat like that in the “I can read and I can write” example). I learned so much in this interview. I hope to incorporate some pictures she emailed me into the text to liven up the words. This will feed into my larger project because a lot of the points she made are valid arguments for discrimination against Catholics. She also opened up new doors that I can explore.

Code Book: My code book is still in the works. I missed class last Thursday due to soccer, so I am somewhat confused on my codebook. I have codes for discrimination, like I posted in my last blog and I am using them a lot. The majority of the ones in use are P, M, CON, CinE. These codes tell me what Catholic concept is misunderstood that lead to discrimination against the religion. I have collected a lot of data, and it is telling me there are a wide variety of instances when Catholics are discriminated against. I think the most interesting point I have come by is that uneducated Catholics may be the starting point for discrimination. They cannot stand up for their faith correctly and are bad examples of it. The Catholic faith is so much more than what these people show, and this can lead to discrimination. I found an interview done today quite compelling. It was with a Catholic student who actually disagreed with the religion on Confession, a prime discriminatory factor. This will be analyzed later, but it was so interesting to me, definitely shocked me!

I missed class, so I do not have the East Caney fieldnotes/codebooks to expand or analyze, but I will expand my own set of fieldnotes taken from mass this past Sunday (11.8.09). It was a packed church, which was so nice to see because on the weekdays, the church is like a ghost town. I cannot get over how friendly the community of the church here in Commerce is! They are so welcoming. The mass greeter that stands outside before church politely asked me if I would help collect the money at collection, and I said yes, of course. The mass was really long, a lot longer than usual due to Father George’s homily. I didn’t mind though. I used to hate long masses because I would get so bored, but the more I do this study, the more interested in the Catholic church I get. I learned so much. Father talked about being a “practicing Catholic” and what that means. He cited information from the Catechism. I learned that we are only required to go to Confession once a year, at any time. I thought it was once every three months, but obviously the more you go, the better off you are. Also I learned that you are only required to receive Communion (the Body of Christ) once every year, during the Easter season. I figured it would be way more than that since we are obligated to go to mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. The sign of peace still amazes me. Everyone is so lively, full of energy, and ready to throw some love at you. I love the environment that this church provides. After church all parishioners signed up for pictures taken by Olan Mills for the Parish Directory. I was shocked that this small church did those, I thought my church back home was the only one that did picture directories. I signed up for a time and can’t wait to get the book to see all the parishioners. Not to mention, this will be a great artifact for my project. I will also be able to see exactly how many families are in the church and get some numbers. Coffee and donuts along with fellowship was provided after the mass. I visited with my friends, the Juarez family, and played with their cute kids. I also talked to Dr. Joe and Fr. George and we are ready for Bible study this Wednesday! I am strolling right along with interviews. I have two done, and two more set up. I can’t wait to get more information and delve deeper into the mystery of Catholic discrimination. Let the interviews begin!

Add a comment November 10, 2009

RJ 20

Annotated Table of Contents

1. Artifacts
   a.CSO/Catholic Church announcement card provided for students at a booth at orientation: This is a card that I got at orientation after signing up for CSO. It provides two prayers, mass times, and general church information, including contact information.
   b. Handouts after mass: I have five sets of the handouts they give after mass. This is where all announcements go. It lists mass times and has sections for your own reading. It has “Responding to God’s Word” sections that help you deepen the understanding of your faith at home.
   c. Hot dog cookout handout: This handout was for the first CSO event, one of which I could not attend due to soccer. It was a hot dog cookout that got all the members together for fellowship and fun. They talked about what they wanted to accomplish this year through CSO.
   d. Chi Alpha card: This was handed out at Bible study. A few of the boys were urging more CSO members to go to this Christian group on Tuesday nights.
   e. Bible Study handout: This handout states the readings we will be going over in Bible study that night, and has a quote at the bottom pertaining to the reading. There is also space on this for students to take notes throughout the night.
   f. Parish Registration Form: This is the form you would fill out to become a member of the parish.
2. Fieldnotes and Expanded Fieldnotes: This section includes all of my many sets of fieldnotes. Most of them are from masses, and Wednesday night Bible studies. I have one interview (Veronica Juarez) in here, and my Commerce Week on Writing fieldnotes are also in this section.
3. Permission Slips: This sections includes the permission slips of all my interviewees (some of them are not completed, but the ones I have interviews set up for are!)
4. Writing Assignments: Up to now, this section has my WA1, WA2, and WA3. This will be where all of my writing assignments go.
5. Research Journals: I have RJs 1-19 in here. It is all very organized!

Analysis: There are many recurring themes thus far. After an in-depth interview with Veronica Juarez, I found discrimination against Catholics is everywhere. The media plays a crucial role in this discrimination. Whenever something is involving the Catholic church, the priests are usually the “bad guys” in the movie/show. The media has such an impact because it is available for everyone. People discriminate as well, but maybe they got these ideas from the media. Veronica has been a victim of discrimination due to her faith many, many times. Hearing her stories made me think of many times I had to stick up for my faith as well. The church in Commerce is small and very welcoming. They will befriend you the minute you walk in the door. The best way to evangelize people is accepting them for who they are and their religion, and they can see you and the power and happiness your religion provides for you, and this enthusiasm can be contagious. Therefore, the best way to evangelize may be to get a deeper faith for yourself, and show simple acts of kindness, let God work through you, and show others the love He gives you, and, in turn, they may want the same never-ending and merciful love. I need to get more interviews and delve deeper into the study to see what all discriminations exist and how serious they can get. I have gotten a lot of information through Bible study on learning what the Bible is telling us, on the Catholic church, and on fellowship. Getting together with these core members of CSO every week really makes a difference. I have learned so much and am growing in my faith. My next step is definitely more interviews which I already have lined up. From there, I will draw parallels between discriminations. Veronica was such a help because she has a background in high school and college ministry, and she is so educated when it comes to Catholicism. If I have any more questions, she will be a great source of information. This study should mean a lot to the Catholic church. I project that it can show the church areas of misunderstanding that need to be looked at. I have found that ignorant (uneducated) Catholics may be just as much at fault as people doing the discrimination. The more information I find out, the more interested I get in the study! My next interview is with the CSO students and my main aim is to find certain acts of discrimination and why they occur, and what can be done to stop them. I have many new artifacts including registration forms and handouts after mass.

Code Book:

CP: from a Catholic Perspective
NP: from a Non-Catholic Perspective (These need to be evident because I am getting viewpoints from both Catholics and Non-Catholics.
LK: Lack of knowledge (a main reason for discrimination)
Rit: Ritualistic (reason for discrimination)
CinE: Christ in Eucharist (a concept many don’t understand, and therefore a cause of discrimination)
CON: Confession (raises problems and discrimination)
P: papal authority-aka, the Pope. (many people think we worship him- cause for discrimination)
M: Mary, Mother of God (people think we put too much emphasis on her and “worship” her as well, problem for discrimination)
CSO: Catholic Student Organization
BS: Bible Study

Add a comment November 5, 2009

RJ 19

Chapter 7 is all about researching archives (collections of documents and artifacts). The internet allows us to connect with archives and artifacts we never would have been able to many years ago without actually going to see them. Artifacts are useful to study because they are examples of tradition (rituals, behaviors, language, beliefs, culture in general). Archives are also important because they “strengthen your fieldwork through triangulation” (meaning they back up your data). When encountering archival material, the first step is to organize it. There is no right or wrong way to do this, it just must be done. It is important to know what the time period was. Diachronically means according to many points over a length of time and synchronically means according to events, environmental features, or artifacts or items that exist at one period of time. Ethnohistory is a study of the development of cultures. Electronic archives can be easier to research.

Box 31: The keyword I typed in was “Catholic discrimination.” I found many, many results, 3,790,000 to be exact. The first hyperlink took me to a website called Catholic online (catholic.org). It was a blog post of a deacon telling a story of him and his son that lead into discrimination of their religion. This story probably isn’t a good source for my research. The next website was the definition of “Anti-Catholicism” from Wikipedia. Instead of overlooking this source, I went to the bottom of the page and clicked on their sources, most of which usually provide valuable information. Most of the sources were books not found online, but The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice is a book that was hyperlinked and took me to a page about the book. It seems to be about Catholic bigotry, especially within the United States. I feel like this book may boost my knowledge and help my study. The third website was helium.com where anyone could write their thoughts on Catholic bashing: the accepted discrimination. Fourteen people replied to this. Some of them were interesting; some of them were out of control. I wouldn’t use these in my studies – I am focusing on Commerce, TX. But I may be able to parallel views I receive throughout interviews with views like these. The fourth was a lawsuit on Catholic discrimination. This may be interesting to look into- how far has this discrimination gone? All the way to the court system? Is it that serious?  The fifth item was a newsweek.washingtonpost.com where “Catholics are influenced by the bishops,” making it sound like bishops just tend to their “OWN agendas.” I thought the search was interesting. If I wanted to delve deeper and find out more specific information, I would change my keyword. For example, I could do Catholic discrimination in Texas; Catholic discrimination AND Texas; Catholic population in Texas; Catholic background in Texas. Any of these searches would yield different and wonderful results that can be potentially helpful to my research project. I plan to use some sort of internet archive or artifact or simple information to provide information for my ethnography.

Add a comment November 3, 2009

RJ 18

Chapter 6: This chapter is all about language. I found it very interesting. How do you read people? By looking at body language, spacial arrangement (use of space), and dress/adornment, you can learn a lot about a culture. Adding these extras in your fieldnotes will really help out your ethnography! “Listening to the spoken language of your informant is an important way to learn about a culture. One key word can unlock information about the habits, beliefs, geography, and history of a whole group of people. Your job as a fieldworker is to act as a cultural  translator, recording and questioning the meanings of key words, phrases, and ideas that might serve as clues to step in to your informant’s culture.” I think slang terms are so interesting, such as “cheek” that used to mean “attitude.” We have so many new slang terms in this day and age. I chose to do box 25 because I thought there are many terms Catholics use that other people probably do not know what they mean, or they may think they know what they mean but it may really mean something else. So I have compiled a short GLOSSARY of my insider lingo. I hope you all learn something by reading it. One last note- I found the “performance” section interesting because I can relate that to the Catholic church – looking at each mass as if it were a performance. But also each individual as they perform in their own little way – interesting to think about and observe.

Box 25 [page 314]: CATHOLIC GLOSSARY:

• ABORTION: Briefly defined as ‘the loss of a fetal life.’
• ADVENT: a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and embracing four Sundays.
• BAPTISM: One of the Seven Sacraments of the Christian Church; frequently called the ‘first sacrament’, the ‘door of the sacraments’, and the ‘door of the Church.’
• CANON LAW: Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members.
• CHALISE: Occupies the first place among sacred vessels, and by a figure of speech the material cup is often used as if it were synonymous with the Precious Blood itself.
• CONFESSION: A sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest’s absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same.
• DEACONS: The name means only minister or servant, and is employed in this sense both in the Septuagint (though only in the book of Esther, and in the New Testament).
• EUCHARIST: Since Christ is present under the appearances of bread and wine in a sacramental way, the Blessed Eucharist is unquestionably a sacrament of the Church; the word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great, the early Church having used the expression the ‘breaking of bread’ (fractio panis) or ‘liturgy.’
• FAST: abstinence of food or drink.
• HALLOWEEN: Celebrated on the first of November. Instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feasts during the year.
• LENT: forty days of fasting before Easter
• SABBOTH: The seventh day of the week among the Hebrews, the day being counted from sunset to sunset, that is, from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
• SACRAMENTS: Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification. There are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Marriage, and Eucharist.
• TABERNACLE: Vessel holding the Blessed Sacrament.
• TRINITY (Blessed Trinity): The term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion, the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these three persons being truly distinct one from another.

These are just a few of the many, many definitions and lingo used within the lovely Catholic church. Researching these, I even learned new terms, and I hope you all do as well. This will help immensely on my ethnography.

Add a comment October 28, 2009

RJ 17

Analysis Memo: The CWOW was a huge success in my eyes. I attended three events total and learned many new things along the way. I didn’t think a week in writing could be so interesting, but this week sparked some interest in English for me, and it gave me motivation for my ethnographic project. I was surprised by the number of people in attendance. In all our sessions, I observed it was our class there, and only a few other students/staff. I guess this activity wasn’t as popular as other activities or maybe not well publicized, but I thought there would be a lot more people there. I was also surprised there was food there, but I loved having snacks to munch on throughout the presentations. I am very grateful for the speakers taking time out of their busy schedules to come talk to us and teach us about writing. I was intrigued by the presentation of Don’t Be Silent, as well as the PhD students. I thought the documentary was awesome and would have taken so much time to compile all the information he had, along with English subtitles. Luca himself was intriguing. His accent was awesome and he was so full of knowledge on the subject matter. He would pause a lot in his talking to think of an English word that would match the Italian one, and that was disturbing. I was intrigued by the interest of the students and the questions that they asked. I thought many of them were insightful and lead to the revelation of new material. I was disturbed by the squeaky chairs in the PhD presentation, but I thought the man who read his paper about all his sufferings (eating disorder, not social) was SO awesome. That was probably my favorite presentation all week. He had beautiful words intertwined to make a sad story. Being up there and telling us first hand would have taken a lot of courage, and I truly admire him. He was great. I also enjoyed the talks about religion and literacy, since this goes with my topic. I went to mass and Bible study Wednesday (10.21.09). We got served pizza and cookies – so spoiled! At mass there were 20 people, a minor let down from last week’s 23. I was shocked by the pumpkin decorations on the altar; they usually don’t have decorations in church. I was also intrigued by the lighting again, and it was the same on Sunday mass. The lights all go in a circle in the ceiling, and they are all pointed toward the altar. For this reason, if you sit in the back of the church like I usually do, you are sitting in somewhat darkness. I thought this was interesting because as you proceed up pews, you get closer to Jesus and the light. (Maybe I should start working my way up pews!) Ten CSO members were at Bible study, and it was such a success. We not only open our Bibles and got familiar with the readings for the next Sunday’s mass, we shared personal stories and learned more about God through Dr. Joe and his classes studying to become a deacon. I was intrigued by a connection Veronica made. She told us that at the Consecration when the priest puts a drop of water into the wine (blood of Christ) that resembles humanity; it is like we are becoming one with God. We can unite all our sufferings with his an offer them up. I thought this was really awesome, and now when this part takes place in the mass, I remember what she said. We had handouts with the reading numbers on them. This facilitated finding the readings. Just like Yancey said, technology can make things so much easier. A lot of this Bible study was about mercy and forgiveness, as well as confession. Most non-Catholics I have talked to (before interviews) don’t agree with confession. They wonder why you have to verbally say all your sins when you can just pray to God by yourself and have them forgiven. I think Confession is wonderful and holds you more accountable for your sins. If you knew you had to confess to doing something, I think it could potentially stop you from doing it. I should look more into the thoughts on confession, as I see patterns within society of disagreement. I was disturbed, but somewhat in a good way, by the final question we talked about at Bible study. What is it that doesn’t make you feel great? Maybe it is this that makes us see the Lord the way he wants us to see him. For instance, put it all in God’s hands and offer your sufferings to God. It may just be that our sufferings bring us closer to Him. He can provide us with consolation and love. He is amazing.  

Chapter 7 is all about researching archives (collections of documents and artifacts). The internet allows us to connect with archives and artifacts we never would have been able to many years ago without actually going to see them. Artifacts are useful to study because they are examples of tradition (rituals, behaviors, language, beliefs, culture in general). Archives are also important because they “strengthen your fieldwork through triangulation” (meaning they back up your data). When encountering archival material, the first step is to organize it. There is no right or wrong way to do this, it just must be done. It is important to know what the time period was. Diachronically means according to many points over a length of time and synchronically means according to events, environmental features, or artifacts or items that exist at one period of time. Ethnohistory is a study of the development of cultures. Electronic archives can be easier to research.

Box 31: The keyword I typed in was “Catholic discrimination.” I found many, many results, 3,790,000 to be exact. The first hyperlink took me to a website called Catholic online (catholic.org). It was a blog post of a deacon telling a story of him and his son that lead into discrimination of their religion. This story probably isn’t a good source for my research. The next website was the definition of “Anti-Catholicism” from Wikipedia. Instead of overlooking this source, I went to the bottom of the page and clicked on their sources, most of which usually provide valuable information. Most of the sources were books not found online, but The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice is a book that was hyperlinked and took me to a page about the book. It seems to be about Catholic bigotry, especially within the United States. I feel like this book may boost my knowledge and help my study. The third website was helium.com where anyone could write their thoughts on Catholic bashing: the accepted discrimination. Fourteen people replied to this. Some of them were interesting; some of them were out of control. I wouldn’t use these in my studies – I am focusing on Commerce, TX. But I may be able to parallel views I receive throughout interviews with views like these. The fourth was a lawsuit on Catholic discrimination. This may be interesting to look into- how far has this discrimination gone? All the way to the court system? Is it that serious?  The fifth item was a newsweek.washingtonpost.com where “Catholics are influenced by the bishops,” making it sound like bishops just tend to their “OWN agendas.” I thought the search was interesting. If I wanted to delve deeper and find out more specific information, I would change my keyword. For example, I could do Catholic discrimination in Texas; Catholic discrimination AND Texas; Catholic population in Texas; Catholic background in Texas. Any of these searches would yield different and wonderful results that can be potentially helpful to my research project. I plan to use some sort of internet archive or artifact or simple information to provide information for my ethnography.

Add a comment October 27, 2009