CLAT Steps 4A-4B Event Lenses Questions Flashcards
7 Event Lenses: Basic Questions
SPACE: Was the event inside or outside? Where were people placed in the location? How did use of space change at different times?
MATERIALS: What clothes, costumes, musical instruments, electronic media, amplification, and lighting did you notice? Take photos and draw sketches if possible and desired.
PARTICIPANTS: Who was here? How many people of each gender were there? age group? other demographic variable? social status? What were they doing? How were they interacting? Who organized, advertised, and promoted the event?
SHAPE OF THE EVENT THROUGH TIME: How long did the event last? When did the event occur? What were the major internal sections of the event itself?
PERFORMANCE FEATURES: What was everybody doing? What activities were associated with this event, including pre-and post-event activities?
CONTENT: What kinds of plot, text, morals, themes, and language(s) were used?
UNDERLYING SYMBOLIC SYSTEMS: What meanings may be associated with the elements above?
Take a First Glance at an Event’s Genre –
Beginning Questions
Who normally performs or creates it? E.g., women, men, children, caste members. Also, gather names of prominent performers or creators.
Where do people normally perform or create it? E.g., outdoors, indoors, special place.
When do people normally create or perform it? E.g., day, night, ceremony, weekly rehearsal, spontaneously for pleasure.
To whom do people normally perform or present it? E.g., potential suitors, ecstatic audience, God.
Why do people normally perform or present it? E.g., express emotions, make money, motivate to action, affirm identity, play.
With what connotations do people normally perform or present it? E.g., partying, a certain age group, spiritual, sexual.
How are new instances normally created? E.g., solitary individual, dreams, group experimentation.
7 Events Lenses: Research Questions & 1-2 Questions Each
SPACE:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: Draw a floor diagram, including boundaries and demarcations.
- QUESTIONS: Were any parts of the space separated by physical and/or conceptual markers? How did each participant’s location in the space and proximity to other participants affect their contribution to the event?
MATERIALS:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: Make a list of objects associated with the event, including: structures (like buildings), what people wore, what they held or otherwise manipulated with their bodies, objects on surfaces like walls, floors, or ceilings, live objects like animals or plants, foods, etc.
- QUESTIONS: What did participants do with objects? Were some objects treated in unusual or special ways?
PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATION:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: N/A
- QUESTIONS: 1) How many participants were there (be sure to include ancestors or gods that are not physically present)? What were each of their roles? 2) How did the participants use performance features to interact with each other? Were there obvious patterns (etiquette)?
SHAPE OF EVENT THROUGH TIME:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: Create a Hierarchical Segmentation Time Line from a basic level-out perspective: 1st chart (2 columns w/rows): Time / What Happened; 2nd Chart (columns w/rows): Segment 1 (xx min.), Segment 2 (xx min.), etc.
- QUESTIONS: What were the segments of the event and when did one segment end and another begin? What marked these transitions?
PERFORMANCE FEATURES:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: Look for repeated actions. Look for actions that seem to provoke a strong reaction in participants.
- QUESTIONS: What did people do to send messages through which communication channels (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)? Where did participants focus their attention?
CONTENT:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: N/A
- QUESTIONS: What was the event about? How did participants communicate the subject matter at different points in the event?
USS:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: N/A
- QUESTIONS: Does this feature appear in all examples of this genre? What features always stay the same in the genre (stable) and which are sometimes different (malleable)?
