I have now been to many squat events at which food was relevant, and my notebooks are lavishly filled with ink of multiple colors. But taking a step back and making sense of all of these notes feels to me like stuffing the comforter thing into the comforter case when it's all knotted up after being in the dryer and you're not sure which corner goes where and it's too big to spread out anywhere so you just have to grab each corner and hope you've got the alignment right, and somehow you end up with the case over your head and the comforter is all packed into one side but still manages to spill out partway and then you realize most of the case is on the floor and now you should probably go wash it again and start over.
Maybe this isn't so relevant to collaborative work, but the first question I need to deal with, I think, is how to actually organize my data and start to look at it through my framework. Maybe I should have started doing this earlier, but I was ambivalent because I was worried that my framework would unfairly influence or bias my observation. Still.
In terms of collaboration, then, say I come up with some characterization of how squatting culture is reflected through the ways that squatters relate to food. And say that both Cassie and Fiona also have some comparable sorts of characterizations in the terms of their own frameworks. But each of our frameworks is very different. Maybe we can couch our results in the terms of our common definition of culture. Even so, they might not have anything to say to each other; their conclusions might still be unconnected. Can we then just put these three characterizations next to each other and call it a research project?
I'm afraid there are so many conditions that it might still be too early to know whether these questions will be important or necessary. Maybe figuring out how to solve my first problem will make it clearer what kinds of questions will be relevant for the second problem.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
1: The Datum [assignment for VKS Tuesday]
There can really be only one. But no decapitation will be required to demonstrate the truth of this argument. There will also be no soundtrack by Queen.
Photography
Cassie - Since my project is mainly concerned with the information I receive
through conversations with the people themselves, I haven't been too
camera-happy during research so as not to come off as invasive. I have,
however, taken some pictures of political graffiti on the outsides of
squats... such as a freedom of speech one, as well as tons of anarchy and
squat symbols. Other than that, I've just taken pictures of all of us
having a good time at the squat restaurants that we eat at often.
Isaac - I have taken pictures of the food productions at the moment before they are traversed by the eater. This on 3 occasions so far.
Fiona - I’ve been using photography to document:
-certain objects of interest
-large spaces (i.e. wall areas or doors of stickers)
Speech & Hearing
Cassie - As for my interviews with squatters, I have spoken with a man and a woman
at the squat "Molli," a woman from the soon-to-be shut down squat,
"Barcelona," a woman who squats but was just hanging out at the
squat-cafe "Bollox," and a man from the squat called "Joe's Garage."
For these interviews, I asked similar questions, including:
1. Are you from the Netherlands, and if not, from where?
2. How long have you been squatting?
3. Why did you begin squatting? (For shelter or for ideological reasons?)
4. Are you involved in any political organizations?
5. Do you work?
6. Did you go to school?
7. Are you into music, art, etc.?
8. Do homeless people ever come to you interested in squatting?
9. Do you know of any reasons why it might be difficult for some homeless
people to squat?
The people I spoke with are all somewhat politically involved, but
did not necessarily begin squatting for those reasons. Some needed
shelter, and politics came afterward. Some of the squatters are
originally from the Netherlands, while one came from Finland, and another
from Chile. There seems to be a general consensus among squatters that
it is hard for homeless people to squat because many of them have mental
illnesses.
For interviews with homeless / social workers at shelters, I spoke
with a director at De Regenboog, which provides shelter, drug facilities,
and meals; I spoke with a worker at Leger Des Heils, or Salvation Army,
as well as three of the homeless men who stay there; and I spoke with two
directors at the office building of HVO Querido - which offers many
services to the homeless including shelter, drug facilities, social
workers, job programs, etc. For these interviews, I tried to get a sense
of what kinds of people stayed at the shelters there, and asked many of
the same questions that I did for the squatters, but in regards to being
homeless. Once again, I came across many different people and diverse
situations.
Isaac - Data collection of this kind has been disorganized. I have been trying to participate as much as possible in food-related activities in squats, and have been recording my experiences afterward in writing. This participation always involves my asking questions of squatters and others with connections to squatting.
All of the food-related activities so far have been volkskeuken (voku), or "folk kitchens," where volunteers prepare dinner in a situation that is something of a hybrid between a restaurant and an informal social gathering. The information that I have been recording in these situations includes what kind of food is present, how it is presented on the plate, and how it is distributed in the voku. I am also recording social information, such as where people are sitting and with whom they are talking while eating. It is often difficult to separate these aspects, so while I am trying to record as much concrete information as possible, I sometimes resort to more subjective impressions about things like atmosphere and personality. I always inquire about the origin of food ingredients. Finally, I am using narration to record people's reactions to my presence and participation.
I have eaten at squats 4 times so far, at three different squats; three of these events were officially titled "voku," and at one of them I participated not only in the dining but also in the cooking. I have also visited several squats with the intention of participating in an eating-related experience, and have recorded the reasons for my failures to do so.
Fiona - I’ve been informally interviewing people who are in the squats (not necessarily squats, although most are). Questions asked cover the following:
-basics of who they are (i.e. squatter/non-squatter; personal background; relation to current squat; ideologies)
-their thoughts and views on “the scene” (i.e. what types of people do they notice tend to be squatters)
-certain objects of interests (i.e. art piece, posters on the wall, furniture pieces)
-relationship between values/beliefs/ideologies and the above certain objects of interest
Geotagging
None yet.
Video
Nothing at this time.
Photography
Cassie - Since my project is mainly concerned with the information I receive
through conversations with the people themselves, I haven't been too
camera-happy during research so as not to come off as invasive. I have,
however, taken some pictures of political graffiti on the outsides of
squats... such as a freedom of speech one, as well as tons of anarchy and
squat symbols. Other than that, I've just taken pictures of all of us
having a good time at the squat restaurants that we eat at often.
Isaac - I have taken pictures of the food productions at the moment before they are traversed by the eater. This on 3 occasions so far.
Fiona - I’ve been using photography to document:
-certain objects of interest
-large spaces (i.e. wall areas or doors of stickers)
Speech & Hearing
Cassie - As for my interviews with squatters, I have spoken with a man and a woman
at the squat "Molli," a woman from the soon-to-be shut down squat,
"Barcelona," a woman who squats but was just hanging out at the
squat-cafe "Bollox," and a man from the squat called "Joe's Garage."
For these interviews, I asked similar questions, including:
1. Are you from the Netherlands, and if not, from where?
2. How long have you been squatting?
3. Why did you begin squatting? (For shelter or for ideological reasons?)
4. Are you involved in any political organizations?
5. Do you work?
6. Did you go to school?
7. Are you into music, art, etc.?
8. Do homeless people ever come to you interested in squatting?
9. Do you know of any reasons why it might be difficult for some homeless
people to squat?
The people I spoke with are all somewhat politically involved, but
did not necessarily begin squatting for those reasons. Some needed
shelter, and politics came afterward. Some of the squatters are
originally from the Netherlands, while one came from Finland, and another
from Chile. There seems to be a general consensus among squatters that
it is hard for homeless people to squat because many of them have mental
illnesses.
For interviews with homeless / social workers at shelters, I spoke
with a director at De Regenboog, which provides shelter, drug facilities,
and meals; I spoke with a worker at Leger Des Heils, or Salvation Army,
as well as three of the homeless men who stay there; and I spoke with two
directors at the office building of HVO Querido - which offers many
services to the homeless including shelter, drug facilities, social
workers, job programs, etc. For these interviews, I tried to get a sense
of what kinds of people stayed at the shelters there, and asked many of
the same questions that I did for the squatters, but in regards to being
homeless. Once again, I came across many different people and diverse
situations.
Isaac - Data collection of this kind has been disorganized. I have been trying to participate as much as possible in food-related activities in squats, and have been recording my experiences afterward in writing. This participation always involves my asking questions of squatters and others with connections to squatting.
All of the food-related activities so far have been volkskeuken (voku), or "folk kitchens," where volunteers prepare dinner in a situation that is something of a hybrid between a restaurant and an informal social gathering. The information that I have been recording in these situations includes what kind of food is present, how it is presented on the plate, and how it is distributed in the voku. I am also recording social information, such as where people are sitting and with whom they are talking while eating. It is often difficult to separate these aspects, so while I am trying to record as much concrete information as possible, I sometimes resort to more subjective impressions about things like atmosphere and personality. I always inquire about the origin of food ingredients. Finally, I am using narration to record people's reactions to my presence and participation.
I have eaten at squats 4 times so far, at three different squats; three of these events were officially titled "voku," and at one of them I participated not only in the dining but also in the cooking. I have also visited several squats with the intention of participating in an eating-related experience, and have recorded the reasons for my failures to do so.
Fiona - I’ve been informally interviewing people who are in the squats (not necessarily squats, although most are). Questions asked cover the following:
-basics of who they are (i.e. squatter/non-squatter; personal background; relation to current squat; ideologies)
-their thoughts and views on “the scene” (i.e. what types of people do they notice tend to be squatters)
-certain objects of interests (i.e. art piece, posters on the wall, furniture pieces)
-relationship between values/beliefs/ideologies and the above certain objects of interest
Geotagging
None yet.
Video
Nothing at this time.
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