Field Observation, Research Paper Example

Field Site:

Field observation was conducted at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History museum at 2829 Cherokee Street Kennesaw, Georgia 30144. The architectural configuration of this site reflects the openness by which the rather complex topic of United States sovereignty and the battle over plantation economics and the manumission of African American slaves which contracted an entire generation into a struggle; one that still instigates polemics directed at what and whom constitutes ‘American History.’

Reminiscent of the Southern Train stations that transported served customers transporting Southern crops to the North, and the oscillation of travelers from both sides of what would become the North-South divide, the red brick building surrounded by trees and grass instantiates a material history. Rather subdued in exterior, one would hardly know that present within its interior walls, that a less told story of an embattled class of property owners – one which had become staunchly opposed to the proposed retraction wealth by way of the enforcement of tariff fees and taxes, and especially mandated emancipation of the plantation’s systems’ free human input, slaves – was about to unfold.

The pivotal story behind this alternative History project begins with a story of a runaway train. Actually illustrated as a story of theft and betrayal, the 1862 narrative reconstructs the oft taken for granted, not to mention politically correct, vision of the Civil War through the lens of a Union General, James Andrew who deployed an effort against the Confederate South, by stealing a public-private symbol of communication and market economy, the locomotive train. In what was a strategic military move, the piracy of the railroad was a concerted attempt to cut the rail lines, hence immobilizing the South through curtail of much needed supplies. So ruthlessly clever was the Southern army, so it goes that the train was eventually captured by Confederate General William Fuller who was persistent in recuperation of his train.

Upon selection of the Museum site, I noted that I had chosen a location that was not only vested in local history, but deeply defined through institutional partnership as can be seen in the current National Geographic and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) shared cultural heritage project that links Americans throughout the nation with their interconnected and fascinating collective identity. Within the photographic exhibit the African American story is made central, with a poignant image of a black mother and her child waiting for a train in the station. The image calls forth Faye Harrison’s (1991) essay contribution to the annual Association of Black Anthropologists publication that looks at the instrumental use of images within traditional racism, and the co-optation strategies used by public intellectuals toward grounded scholarly critique. Here, we see that the train was not only an instrument of power for military or plantation owners competing for resources and dominion, but a transportation technology utilized by people in everyday life. The image itself evokes a distant past, and one which ‘fast forwards’ the historical project to the mid twentieth century. It is at this juncture between trains, that African Americans reassert identity in a class defined statement that is explicitly rooted in the politics of everyday participatory democracy. Rather than an underground railroad of fear, the new model of social movement is instantiated by the purchase of ticket by a consumer-citizen on the above ground railroad of freedom.

Dedicated to moment of efficacy within American thought and political interpretation, The Southern Museum is masterful in presenting the various perspectives of this North to South history through instructive measures that defy paradigmatic traditionalism. The institution exposes visitors to a high caliber, learner centered dialogue that allows us to engage at ease, with tactile, experiential access to larger technological equipment, and viewing of smaller multitude of artifacts from the War.

The curation of weapons in the Museum is abundant, and replete with guns, knife, and medals, and uniformed mannequins throughout the permanent collection. Glass display cases remind us that items within the historical context are fragile, and are available for observation under glass. One of the historic locomotive trains resides inside the building. It is enormous. Painted in black and red in true confederate style, it was the prettiest train I ever seen; surrounded for protection from curious onlookers by chains to protect this piece of resplendent patrimony from patrons who cannot resist touch. The experience is complimented by in service areas that include a gift shop, learning center and theater.

Human Subjects:

The Museum’s Learning Center is where the action takes place. Children find a beautiful well lit room with ample space, and interactive knowledge tools to learn and play with other children. It is here that I discovered that the Museum attracts a large constituency of families with small children, ranging in the age of infancy to 4 years old. I counted approximately 6 strollers in this area.

In observing the education environment, the museum patron children and their mothers engaged avidly in conversation. The visit quite obviously prompted communicative dialogue and intellectual stimulation. While the children play with toys, books, play boxes, a fantasy train film with an instructional conductor informs them how to ride the train in the background. There is also an on-site mini train that encourages the children to engage tactically. Interesting were the little male soldiers playing noisily in the train, who proceeded until one of the boys hit a small female patron, dressed in a pink dress. This resulted in crying. She had been hit by a boy, and attempted to articulate the event despite her age of approximately one year old. There was sympathetic response by the mother, whom then addressed the issue with the boy’s mother.

As the mothers were sitting on the floor engaging in a small group session, they exchanged thoughts and laughed while the children were playing. According to the textbook, people engage in organizations to meet in sites that encourage group interaction (Macionis, 2008. Overall, I find the Southern Museum and its educational format an excellent location for growth. Children are primarily interactive with parents, and public environments that contribute to a constructive intellectual dialogue at a young age will only enhance the child’s capacity to think and participate fully in society (Macionis, 2008). Museums such as the one chosen in my field study, offer this precise integration of play, parental guidance and democratic community participation in the larger story that is the United States. What is even more telling is that the majority of the mothers participating in this context were Caucasian women, and they appeared to be ‘stay at home moms’ raising their children in economic contribution to the household. Interestingly, I also noticed at that I was the only ‘minority,’ observing them.

As I concluded by participant observation at the field site, recalled self-reflexive praxis, and wondered if they noticed me, an ethnographer and potential, observer-observed. I also thought of my own children, and noted that in spite of the popularity of the site, that no further query could be made into the educational processes the patron children, without school aged children who were not on location due to the school day. The other patrons were either elderly couples or single people merely exploring the museum and learning the experience of history as I. It was enjoyable for me to see the older couples still looking back at the old days with nostalgia.

Other activities conducted included attendance at the theater to watch a movie about the runaway train. In the theater I noted an elder couple watching the movie. Soon after a mother and two little children boy and girl sat and watch the movie. It was approaching lunch time and the museum was getting very scarce with people. The mothers gathered their children, and made their way for purchases from the gift shop were the children reviewed their option on the souvenir stands.

Summary of Experience:

In final, the day at the museum was quiet, yet interesting. It was an opportunity to learn about an event in U.S. History in situ. It was refreshing to see that the continuity of this complex history is revisited and revised through living historiography as young and old recount the legends available for re-narration impromptu. “Cultures do not hold still for their portraits” argues James Clifford, “attempts to make them do so always involve simplification and exclusion, selection of temporal focus, the construction of a particular self-other relationship, and the imposition or negotiation of a power relationship”(p.10). Mediation as an ethnographer only has wings on this basis. I learnt that my representation of others is a touchstone crafted only through the salient participation of others.

References

Clifford, J. (1986). Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Harrison, F. V., ed. (1991). Anthropology as an Agent of Transformation: Introductory Comments and Queries. in: Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving Further Toward an Anthropology for Liberation. Washington D.C.: American Anthropological Association.

Macionis, J.J. (2008). SOC100: Sociology: 2009 custom edition, 12^th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.