By: Jim Sabella on September 15, 2016
Historically, “words/text” were the lingua franca of the ethnographer’s world. However, there has been a shift in the understanding of how knowledge is gathered and represented. As well, there has been a surge in technological advancement that has made the equipment and production of media more assessable and its dissemination quicker and easier. This is…
By: Stu Cocanougher on September 15, 2016
Doing Visual Ethnography by Sara Pink is a window into the world of visual ethnographers. This field of study seems to be a combination of the fields of anthropology, sociology, journalism, and the visual arts. Reading this book caused me to search the internet to look at some works of visual ethnographers cited in this…
By: Katy Drage Lines on September 15, 2016
Understanding ethnographic methodologies The goal of ethnographic research is so that “we may arrive at a closer understanding of the worlds that other people live in” (36). Visually, “photographs, videos and other images… do not necessarily take on the status of being knowledge about the research question or findings in themselves, but rather can be…
By: Mary Walker on September 15, 2016
After reading “Doing Sensory Ethnography” by Sarah Pink, I realized that without knowing that it was called “sensory ethnography”, I have probably been practicing a “process of creating and representing knowledge or ways of knowing that are based on ethnographers’ own experiences and the way these intersect with the persons, places and things encountered during…
By: Kristin Hamilton on September 14, 2016
My daughter, Grace, is an incredible visual ethnographer and she does not even know it. I imagine it is that way with many of her generation. As she goes through life, she documents the people and experiences in a way that offers a lens that not only invites others into the experience, but also allows…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on September 14, 2016
Technology has transformed the way we live our lives. From the way we interact with others to the way we connect and share with those around us. It has informed the way we engage in understanding other cultures and therefore expanding our worldview. With this great transformation comes new ways and methods by which we…
By: Lynda Gittens on September 14, 2016
LGP7 DOING VISUAL ETHNOGRAPHY The author has written on this subject before and based on the current technology, she decided to update her writing to include these new era of ideas. She stated that this book maybe geared more toward researchers. This statement encouraged me to be more attentive to what was written. I must…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on September 14, 2016
“A picture is worth a thousand words” can be the sentence summary for the book “Doing Visual Ethnography” authored by Pink. I found myself contemplating the power of the picture. As the senses are alerted, emotions provoked, and curiosity peaked, the viewer is drawn into the visual as they wrestle through a variety of emotions…
By: Geoff Lee on September 14, 2016
Jason mentioned recently his desire to throw a book across a room in frustration at the contorted writing of the author. While I did not ultimately use this book as a projectile, it was a close run thing, and the volume did teeter on the tips of my fingers on several occasions. First of…
By: Stu Cocanougher on September 9, 2016
The title How to Read a Book sounds like an instructional manual. And in many ways, it is. No, the book does not teach the alphabet, nor does it illustrate how to make letters into words. Punctuation is not discussed in detail. Yet, the book has a lot to say about the experience of reading,…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on September 9, 2016
Dancing comes to mind when describing the author’s concept of reading a book. There is a rhythm, flow, and movement both the reader and the writer need to subscribe to in order for there to be a graceful, beautiful experience. If there is not a clear writing process, the reader gets lost and frustrated in…
By: Kristin Hamilton on September 8, 2016
I have to admit I was less than thrilled about the prospect of reading How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren for the first book of my doctoral studies. It just seemed odd. At this point in my academic career, reading a book about how to read seemed a little redundant. When…
By: Chip Stapleton on September 8, 2016
When I was in high school and college in the late 80’s and early 90’s Cliff’s Notes (then with the apostrophe) were a sort of a taboo in the schools I attended. [Cliff’s Notes, if you aren’t familiar are ‘study guides’ designed to help you pass a class/assignment without having read the text. In the…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on September 8, 2016
I found it ironic that the first book that I am asked to read in my doctoral program is the book “How to Read a Book” by Mortimer J Adler and Charles Van Doren. The irony is in the fact that it can be assumed that once you reach this level of academia you should…
By: Katy Drage Lines on September 8, 2016
I am working under the following assumptions: those who venture to read this blog post are intelligent people; perhaps they have even read the book I review here. For whatever reason you have happened onto this post, welcome! Mortimer Adler’s classic 1940 book, updated with Charles Van Doren in 1972, guides the reader through a…
By: Lynda Gittens on September 8, 2016
It was a challenge for me to read a book about how to read a book. The author shared his points on the levels of reading, types of books, and the ways to approach reading. He stated that there were four levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical, and syntopical. He dissected each level to provide…
By: Jim Sabella on September 8, 2016
When I saw that Adler’s and Van Doren’s How to Read a Book was listed as part of our course reading, it brought to mind an encounter I had when I first read the book several years ago. While I was reading the book on a park bench, a man came up to me and…
By: Geoff Lee on September 8, 2016
How to Read a Book – Adler and van Doren This book looks at the four different types of reading, ranging from elementary reading, to inspectional reading, to analytical reading to syntopical reading, focusing in particular detail on the latter two categories. All books are not equal, and they should be read in different ways,…
By: Mary Walker on September 7, 2016
So, why do doctoral level students need to read a book called, “How to Read a Book”? I found out why in this engaging and enjoyable book. As an old dog at the age of 65, I still learned some new tricks. Analysis The authors, Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren explain that we…
