Critical Review #5

Barz, Gregory.  “Confronting the Field(note) In and Out of the Field.”  Shadows in the Field.  Ed. Barz and Cooley.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. 206-223.

Gregory Barz addresses the writing of fieldnotes in this chapter.  He tackles the old notion of fieldnotes as a stepping stone from Experience to Interpretation and suggests that the process is more “interactive.”  While he acknowledges that reflection goes into the writing of the fieldnote, he suggests three levels of notes: an “initial” note written in the field, a “second, reflective note” written after the fact, and a third note whose goal is to analyze the first two.  He suggests that the ethnomusicologist begins to reflect and analyze before writing and continues the analysis well after the fieldnotes are completed.  His interactive model reminds me of Wong’s performative ethnography.

According to Barz's model, fieldnotes happen after the "experience." How can we account for our preconceptions and other things that happen before the "experience" itself? Do we not start to think about our topic well before we make our first "fieldnotes?"