Observation Report
The observation report describes your observations and one interview among members of a local Hindu community during one of the annual celebrations, recorded at a local worship site, and relates these to the observations of other ethnographers who have observed the same celebration in India. You write as if you were articulating your thoughts not just for your own reflection for the professor to assess, but also to provide explanations for a peer (vs. a specialist) who is unfamiliar with the topic. NOTE: half a dozen student Observation Reports will be assigned as readings for the final TRA and application exercise.
IMPORTANT: you must observe one of the celebrations at one of the times listed under Local Sites, not simply visit the site and talk to people. Although you may at other times have interesting informal interactions with community members there, it will be difficult to tell what they normally do when outsiders are not present based exclusively on such interactions.
Intended Audience:
Think of your audience for the Observation Report as a discerning peer who is keenly interested in other religions, but who has not studied Hindu traditions in an academic context. This person is curious about
A. what people do at the worship site you visited, and what they experience inwardly as they do it;
B. what worshipers think about before, during & after the practice, and how that reflection influences their practice; and
C. what you thought about & felt as an observer, and how what you observed compares to observations of others who have observed similar forms of worship in India.
The Observation Report Worksheet (ORW) guides you in generating a list of questions to answer when you observe. You will then use the material generated by your responses on the worksheet to create a more cohesive, 5 page narrative or visual presentation intended for the above reader.