Fuji

You are sitting in a cafe with a group of friends, talking about a particular issue in depth for about 30 minutes. Because you are on a caffeine buzz, you’ve covered multiple angles and multiple arguments about this issue, and while not everyone completely agrees on a particular perspective, everyone is eager to move on to the next topic (before ‘Hitler’ gets brought in to elevate the argument to absurdity). All of a sudden, some noob who just walked into the cafe and overheard a bit of your conversation, tries to join the conversation by saying something that someone had said fifteen minutes ago.

We do literature reviews because no one wants to be that irritating noob.

A literature review provides an overview of the published information about a particular ethnographic subject area or a body of specialized theory. Ethnographic subject areas (i.e., sports in Asia, Latino immigrants in the United States) specifically look at a particular cultural phenomena in a particular place, while specialized theory (i.e., sports and society, diaspora ethnicity) will address similar questions but in different ethnographic regions. Literature reviews can contain both, especially if your topic has been widely written on.

Like an academic research paper, it features a particular argument – but unlike an ethnographic research paper, the focus of your analysis will not be a particular social group or cultural practice, but a synthesis of what other social analysts have said. It is a useful step in the research process, because by reviewing the literature, you will be able to:

• Clarify the focus of your research by narrowing down the issues involved in your research
• Contextualize your own thinking with what others have said on the subject
• See what other questions you need to address
• Construct a deeper analytical framework for your project

A good literature review is comprehensive, in that a wide array of different perspectives and approaches are brought into discussion. It is also current, in that it contains the most up-to-date publications on your topic. A good literature review is analytical, in that it breaks down the field into categories of approaches, so that different themes or research questions become salient.

Like any prose, a literature review has an introduction, body of text, conclusion, and bibliography. The introduction features your take on the literature that looks like a thesis statement – it argues that a specific approach (which could be a combination of a number of different approaches) is the best way to understand a particular social group or cultural practice. The body of the literature review contains summaries and synthesis of the literature in your field, and is organized either thematically (the categories of approaches, often the best way to present the literature), chronologically (showing how seminal authors have structured the discourse within a field), or methodologically (arranged by research methods). Not every work needs to be summarized, if it is part of what you see as a thematic group – but it should be cited. You should try to avoid direct quotes, unless they are pivotal in establishing a theme. Lastly, it should include an extensive bibliography, with each citation showing up somewhere in the text.

Your literature review is designed to help you understand the wider context of your project. Depending upon your project, your review can either be of the “ethnographic specific” type or “specialized theory” type. Think of this as a draft of your final paper – much of it can (and should) be included in it. There is no specific limit on the number of citations, but I cannot see one that has fewer than five citations adequately covering your topic; don’t forget to include, if applicable, readings from the class. Hint: articles are better than books, unless you find the exact book on your topic (both ethnographically and theoretically).

Other resources on literature reviews:

• https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews
• Writing Like an Anthropologist

I regularly teach “Theory in Anthropology,” a required seminar in the history of anthropological theory, and over the past decade have found that undergraduates consistently do not understand how to use theory. Students have a tendency to focus in on their particular research hypothesis (which is good!), doing narrow literature searches and re-applying theories and methodologies that people in that particular field have used. The problem with this approach is that this is not expansive – theory can be used to push boundaries of understanding, which often happens when theory in one particular area is applied to another (and then tested out in the field to see if it does work in explaining a particular social or cultural phenomenon).

We (anthropologists, social scientists, academics, etc.) use theory because it helps us see things that are hidden or less obvious, helps us “predict” possible outcomes or patterns, and helps us ask the right questions in the right way (i.e., methodology). Theory also makes our work interesting to others; while I am interested in a particular happenings in a specific place, theory helps make my work applicable to others working on different topics in different places. For anthropologists in particular, theory should be grounded in empirical reality – things that we see in the fieldsite. Here is a quick “how to” guide on using theory, using a particular example from a student’s interest.

In this case, after seeing extensive media coverage on the high incidence of sexual assault in the military, the student was interested in finding out why this is so (and ways to solve this problem). In talking about the particular issue, we came up with this particular theoretical approach that will serve as her first draft of the theoretical issues involved in this problem.

Essential Tools (mostly free)
(Updated, 16 March 2017)

Technological literacy (something I really need to define later) is essential to getting things done in today’s mediated world. There are a lot of useful applications out there that will cut back on the tears or punched walls late in the semester. Below are some of the programs that I use everyday to make my life easier, or at least to make it possible for me to cram in more things to do. For more tips, check out Gina Tripani‘s Upgrade Your Life and/or subscribe to Lifehacker. If you are a professor and want more tips, also check out the Chronicle column ProfHacker.

Evernote
This is my collection of everything – and I do mean everything. I use Evernote to clip articles from the web, store downloaded pdf’s that can be easily searched, pictures from the web, receipts from internet purchases, and notes that I take throughout the day. I type my fieldnotes into Evernote, for easy searching and backing up. You can install Evernote on multiple gadgets (I have it on all my PC’s, my tablet, and my smartphone), and sync them between all the gadgets, as well as access them in the cloud. Because of my usage, I did upgrade to the paid version, but you can start off with the free one. One of the best things about Evernote is that it records the URL and date that you clipped the article or picture – this is essential for later citation. I also use tags in Evernote to quickly categorize clippings, but the search feature in Evernote is also pretty powerful.

Dropbox
This is the way that I back up essential files. The best thing about Dropbox is that it requires no thought or effort; once Dropbox is installed on a computer, then it automatically syncs everything in the folders that you choose to add to Dropbox. You can also share folders with other people, and like Evernote, you can access everything in your Dropbox using any web browser. You can also install Dropbox on other gadgets, such as tablets or smartphones, but I use that only to download files from Dropbox (instead of synchronizing folders) because of the more limited storage on gadgets.

Google Reader
There’s a lot of stuff to keep up with – for me, news about China, Coastal/Marine Environmental Studies, science fiction, motorcycles, and lots of other subjects that are near to my academic research or dear to my heart. I try to keep up with everything using Google Reader, which I tailored by subscribing to my interests and then dividing into sub-sections by topic. If I find something interesting, I clip the page to Evernote. If you don’t like the look or capabilities of Google Reader, you can actually use many other applications to view your RSS feeds in Google Reader. I use Flipboard on my tablet to zip through new articles. Here’s Prof. Hacker’s take on Google Reader:
Using Google Reader to Streamline Your Reading.

Alas, Google Reader was put to pasture by Google on July 1, 2013. Now I use Feedly.

Feedly
There’s a lot of stuff to keep up with, to be a proper academic. For me, that includes news about China, food and environmental studies, science fiction, motorcycles, productivity tools, and lots of other subjects that are near to my academic research or dear to my heart. I try to keep up with everything using Feedly, which I tailored by subscribing to my interests (using RSS – but just follow the Feedly directions) and then dividing my many feeds into sections by topic. Any new additions to a website (including news sites), Facebook pages, etc. show up on my Feedly app (which I can access on my phone, tablet, or computer); after seeing the headline, it automatically marks it as read, and I can easily scroll through hundreds of new articles. When I find something worth keeping, I save the page to Evernote. You can even add a google search to Feedly – when new items in a Google Search are found, they appear in your Feedly.

Notepad ++
When I get a new computer, one of the first things that I load onto the computer is Notepad++. I use it when going through html code, cut-and-paste operations from websites, and any other time when I just want plain text and do not need text formatting.

Small notebook

USB Harddrive and Thumbdrives

aka, How to survive and look good in college

There’s too much reading to do, too much fun to be had, and not enough time; welcome to college. Here are some concrete steps to reading that can help you get through everything and actually get something out of everything on the syllabus that was assigned. For another take on this issue, go to this site: http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/tburke1/reading.html, (with examples taken from a reading of Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities).

1. Understand the structure of prose. Books and articles in English tend to be structured in particular ways, which are largely extensions of the “5 paragraph essay.” In an article, the introduction section is key, as is the conclusion. There usually is a “literature review” section – this can be skimmed, especially as you get deeper into a syllabus since the course is probably structured around the topic that is being reviewed. In social science and science articles, this is the section with a lot of in-text citations – i.e., (Lozada 2006; Pan 2011; c.f. Gillette 2010). If you are new to the topic, then this part needs to be read more slowly. The bulk of any article is then methodology, data, and analysis. The first paragraph (other than the cute hook into the reading) is the most important part of the article, and the first sentence is usually the most important part of the paragraph. So pay attention to these firsts. Caveat: sometimes the last part is the most important, depending upon the style of the author; read that as well.

2. Read the title and headings. If you can explain the title of the article and how the author reached the conclusion, then that’s pretty good. Each section may have a heading as well, so also be ready to explain that.

3. Skip words or concepts that you don’t understand for later. Obfuscation is an academic strategy to demonstrate smartness. So if a particular word or concept is used that you don’t understand, and it is only used once or a few times, then it’s probably not important. If it is repeated throughout the article, try to see if you can figure it out through context. If that still doesn’t work, then write down the word/concept, and ask about it in class. Here is a ready-made way to participate in class and show that you at least knew what was assigned for the day.

4. Don’t highlight – take notes. Instead of covering a page in yellow, write (or preferably, type) out particular concepts and quotes, including page numbers. Lists of arguments are good – look for them in the flow of arguments. Look for changes in voice – the whole paragraph may be in third-person, and then there’s a switch to first person. This is usually something important (which is why the shift in voice). Words like “I assert,” “I define,” etc. should be red flags that this is a sentence that should actually be read (instead of skimmed).

5. Set a time limit to finish you readings. If there are 6 articles that need to be read by the end of the week, set aside at least one hour (but not more than two hours) to read 2 articles. So if it’s a Monday seminar, start you reading on Tuesday, and have three days (i.e., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) to finish the readings. Don’t do it straight through, though – your productivity will decline, and you’ll never get through it. Take breaks to help you re-focus – read for half an hour, do language for one hour, and read for another half hour.

6. Look for patterns in the readings. There’s got to be a reason why readings are lumped together for one class period, and there’s also a reason why readings are sequenced the way they are throughout the term. See if you can figure out, like Elmo does, why these things are grouped together. Are the supplementary or complimentary? Is there a title in the syllabus for that day?

7. Read with an agenda. Mine your readings to fit your interests and goals. In a class on “Contemporary Chinese Society and Culture,” for example, your interest broadly speaking may be on gender, with a specific interest in domestic/family issues. So approach each reading with the question – how does this help me understand gender? If the reading is specifically on Chinese railroads, for example, see if you can see power dynamics or other issues that say something about your own interests; if not, then why not? But one constant agenda that you should have is to figure out why the professor assigned the reading. Is it a seminal piece that everyone cites? Is it a counter-point to another article? Is it a review of a particular topic? Is it perhaps another approach to understanding Chinese modernity?

8. Reflect while reading. Do you find yourself nodding your head as you skim through the reading? Or are you getting increasingly irritated as you plod through the article? Assuming that there is nothing in your immediate social context that is troubling you or making you happy, there must be something in the reading that is either confirming something you have a sense of or making you angry. Write down a particular quote that is irritating you or making you happy. Bring that to class, and here you have another “class participation” starting point. Your reaction may also be the reason why the professor assigned that article.

9. What works for articles, works for books. The same approach works for longer works such as books. Substitute chapter for section, substitute first paragraph for first sentence, and essentially you have the same process.

Try these out and see if this works for you. Email me other tips that you’ve discovered helps you plow through the readings so that I can add them to this list, and assign yet another reading to future classes!