American culture

1.  Consider the two ethnographies that you read and the two ethnographic documentary texts that you watched for this module. What type of information about the various communities did these ethnographies make visible (in other words, in what ways did they provide you with an 'emic' perspective of the group)? Was there anything you found particularly surprising?

2. In the contemporary moment, we increasingly form bonds in the digital environment (via social media, text messaging, multiplayer gaming, etc.). Considering the claims made in the Sander & Putnam and Caughey readings, do you think that digital forms of communication strengthen or fray communal relationships? Do you think these relationships are as 'real' or significant as those between people who interact in face to face environments?