IDEAS/BRAINSTORM for anthropology paper???

Question

this paper has to be based on fieldwork that you do yourself. i have NO idea what i should do fieldwork on. IDEAS would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Answer 1

I did one a few semesters ago similar to this.  It was an urban anthropology class and I went to a free club/concert venue and did my research there.  After a couple months, and several interviews, I had a 14 page paper.  Or you can find a public square, the mall (although that's usually where everyone goes), or somewhere like a park.  Just find somewhere with it's own culture and focus on how people act and interact while there.

Answer 2

What are your interests?  Just about anything is open to anthropological research.

Go to different religious buildings and ceremonies, compare and contrast them.

Go to several ethnic neighborhoods if you live in a city and note how they differ.

Reasearch a minority ethnic group in your community.  Discuss it in reference to current issues regarding immigration- tie in some articles about immigration you find in sources such as the New York Times.

Look at the arts- folk art, a musical genre, some type of performance, architecture- and do your paper on that.

Go to several graveyards and look for interesting trends or cultural attributes- use of symbols, statues, arhitecture, etc.  

Explore different ways of eating and drinking.  Take part in different occasions surrounding food.  Go to a Mexican grocery store and compare it to your local market that serves mostly white middle class people.

Look at sporting events.  If you aren't into sports or know nothing about it, all the better.  It will be all new to you. Check out some form of competition that isn't part of American culture.  

Go to a flea market, a dog show, a science fiction convention, soem kind of gathering that focuses on a subculture.

Interview people in the military about some aspect of the military subculture.

There's tons of things you can do.  Go ask your professor specifically for some ideas based upon things that interest you.