Ethnographic Study

Trisha Wisniewski
SW 3510 Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Dr. Billy Blodgett
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 2
Ethnographic Study

Introduction
Ethnographic family study mainly aims at exploring and identifying the various cultural
phenomenons prevailing in families of any particular origin, and it generally uses the qualitative
research design method to carry out the procedure. It should be noted that the case reports and
the field studies seek to get comprehensive and complete information regarding the lives of
individuals in any one particular cultural group (Allen, 2010). Thus, results of the ethnographic
study present the culture of one particular group of individuals, in the graphic or written form. In
addition, the same also ensures the provision of empirical data on culture, as well as human
societies, that basically takes references from the social, biological and the cultural aspects of
anthropology and at the same time, it also seeks to take referee from social sciences, particularly
from sociology. The following paragraph would present detailed ethnographic family study of
the cultures of my family origin and also highlights the various social as well as cultural aspects
of the same.

Ethnographic Study
The ethnographic study of my family would be comprised of three key domains,
including the biological, social and the psychological factors. The following paragraphs would
provide complete ethnographic information about my family and would also relate the same to
the general theories related to the issue:

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Social Domain

The family values and the cultural practices adopted by my family are not only
comprehensive and vast, but at the same time, these also have the influence of various culture,
with special influence from the Jewish groups. This is so because the Polish culture has been
significantly influenced by Germanic, Latinate as well as other ethnic groups, and also from the
Jewish minorities residing in Poland. Polish is the dominating language in the area, and there is a
strong affinity for English; as well. My Grandmother was an orphan in Poland that immigrated to
the United States in the 1920s she brought to our family a strong background in the different
dialect within the polish communities. Our family traditions have various colors and vast
dimensions as the customs and traditions of the Polish groups are a diverse and complex mixture
of East and the West, and come out to be a vibrant as well as colorful combination of the
ornamental style of East as well as the comber influence of Islamic culture. As a child at Easter
our family would make Polish pisanka, which are brightly colored decorative eggs. On Easter
Sunday within our Easter baskets, these eggs would be shared with family and exchanged among
other family members as well. To be well socialized my parents would enroll us children in
dance class. Our traditional dance was of Polish customary dance. Where we wore the Polish
traditional dress which were typically brightly colored, decorated with embroidery and
embellished with different color ribbons which are used depending upon the origin of the
costume.
In addition to the Polish influence, my family also has a significant impact of the German
culture, owing to the German origin of my father. Most of the family values can be traced back to
the German traditions and values, for instance, we generally speak in German language because
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of my fathers strong infinity with the language. It is due to the same reason that my family is
highly religious and the religious practices as well as events are highly regarded to ensure that all
the family members remain in-touch with religion and faith. It should be taken into account that
my family has strong acceptance for individuals from other groups and cultures and the ethnic
differences are never considered a criterion for making relations. This is so because a large
number of ethnic groups are present in Poland and thus there is vast ethnic diversity in the area.
It should be taken into account that the group is composed of individuals from various areas and
locations, and thus there is vast ethnic diversity within the Polish individuals and my family. The
same goes for the ethnic diversity in German population and thus both my parents are open
minded as well as welcoming, transferring the same traits to their children as well. Moreover, it
should be taken into account that the family culture is slightly inclined towards the Eastern side
because of the strong folk influence from both sides, that is absent in the Western cultures.

Psychological Domain

Apart from the social aspects which were mostly external; they were a mixture of the
social network within the family, my community, and my environment. Psychological aspect are
internal; they include thoughts, feelings, emotions, understanding and perception. It is crucial to
note that what happens in one domain will like show effect in the other domains. It was John
Piaget that said each species has distinctive physical structures, and, as humans, we inherit
several key physical structures that are specific to our species. It is due to the same reason that
my family is psychologically open to change as well as innovations, and all the new discoveries
and advancements are always welcome, despite the areas that they are coming from. I have the
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 5
ability to talk to my grandmother on her up bring and her beliefs on family and what she passed
dow to her children. She is 94, and her memory is not as good as it once was. She recalls that
in her time her place was in the home; where she would care for children and attend to the farm.
She was mainly responsible for rearing of children and preparing them for their studies. All of
the children were breastfeed which she said was particularly common among the immigrants or
disadvantage groups.
My mother had a remarkably similar path as her mother. My mothers place was also
within the home raising her two children. She was responsible for maintaining the home and
sending us children off to school. None of her children were breastfed as the 1970s proved to
show a new trend to formula feed babies along with disposable diapers.
My family started off tremendously different, being that I was in the workplace. Both
parental units working in the household is exceedingly common in this generation. However,
things have slightly changed, and I have left the workforce and entered the education system as
my children are growing up. My child are breastfeed as there has been vast studies confirming
that it is best for baby and always has been best, so grandmother was right.
The above mentioned paragraphs mainly highlight the fact that the origin and family
background of individuals places significant influence on their mindsets and the frame of
reference . All the activities and habits adopted by the family members are somehow linked to
the areas of origin and family history and thus it also focuses on the fact that the psychological
patterns of individuals are influenced by their social as well as biological affiliations (Greene,
2011).

ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 6
Biological Domain

It should be taken into account that although social and the psychological aspects of
individuals have limited influence of the area of origin, the biological aspects are highlighted
affected by that. It is due to the same reason that the area of origin of individuals can be judged
by their looks and physique, which is specific to particular cultures. As my family has the Polish
and German background, my family members are all fair and normal heightneither too tall and
nor too short. It should be taken into account that although there are differences in the biological
aspects and physical appearance of both the Polish and German individuals, these differences are
not much highlighted in the family and the children have traits from both sides.
Apart from the appearance, we also all inherited some of the similar traits of my
grandmother. On my mothers side, she has three sisters, of which all share the same blue eye
color and blonde hair color. Both me and my sister both have blue eyes and blonde hair as well.

Cultural Identity and influence on social work and values

The family ethnography presented above has highlighted the influence of the various
backgrounds on my family values and traditions, and the following paragraphs would present the
influence placed on these cultural differences on my job as a social worker. As mentioned earlier,
my maternal and paternal belongings have made me familiar with both: the Polish as well as the
German culture and I have been influenced by the values from both these cultures. The same
familiarity will also place significant impact on my future job as a social worker in a number of
ways, mainly by shaping my attitude and behavior towards individuals. As the Polish individuals
are highly courteous as well as welcoming, I have always learnt to be kind and gentle towards
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 7
others. Moreover, welcoming and hospitable attitude has also been received from my mothers
side and I have always been interested in helping others, especially in the difficult times. The
humble and down-to-earth approach of the Polish culture, combined with the harmony and unity
of the Germans has assisted me in getting better hold of the job requirements and get done with
them in the righteous manner.
The lessons regarding respecting others and their sentiments, and the open approach
towards the religious differences prevented me from falling victim to the religious differences,
which might prove to be detrimental for my job as a social worker. In addition, having parents
from two different cultures allowed to me to get an understanding of the cultural differences and
to deal with them effectively, thus allowing me to serve all nationalities and cultures without any
differentiation and discrimination.

Conclusion
The ethnographic study of my family shows that even though my parents belong to
different cultures that has posed both benefits as well as difficulties. So how a family is defined
can shape and impact your practice as a social worker. It should be noted that there are certain
clauses that take completely opposite direction in both the cultures, thus making the process of
decision making difficult. Although there were a number of differences, the family always tried
to adopt the best practices from each culture and thus discard the antisocial and the negative
ones. In addition, patience and tolerance was practiced at every stage of life to ensure that the
cultural differences are not amplified. The tolerance was not only needed to keep the family
relations intact but the same was required to ensure that the minor differences are ignored, which
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY 8
might have been amplified to create hurdles for the maintenance of better family relations. So as
a family we all work together to maintain a common culture which together pulls to develop the
physical, mental, emotional, and social development of each of its members (Ashford, LeCroy &
LeCroy, 2011).
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References

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Ashford, J. B., LeCroy, C. W., & Lortie, K. L. (2010). Human behavior in the social
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