Jewish Studies

Social Drama- A Social drama deals with the social relationship     between characters. Within the social drama, conflicts     and contrasts between the characters personality emerge.     What often emerges from these conflicts and contrasts are     social changes that frequently question certain morals     and deals with the issues of an individual against the rules     of society. Such examples of this drama were seen in Barbara     Myerhoff’s book “Number Our Days”. The contrast between     Anna and Sophee clearly falls under the context of social     drama. Social drama can also be found within the book during     the graduation ceremony and resignationprocess. After     reading the book “Number Our Days”, the theme ‘Social Drama’     was one of the key themes taken away from the book. Myerhoff’s     book is a perfect example of exploring the Social dramas within     a culture that has to deal with hardships on a daily basis.
        lived person who existed before the interview began. This could be called an ethno-person, the third person who is born by virtue of the collusion between interlocutor and subject”. Basically, an ethno-person is someone who studies ethnos, or an ethnic group. In Myerhoff’s cases, she studied her own ethnic group, making her ethnographic study very innovative.
  Participant- observation – participant observation is     a type of research methodology which aims at gaining a close     familiarity between a certain group of individuals. This     is done by ‘participating’ within the group, joining in on     cultural practices and becoming comfortable with those     individuals in their natural environment. This type of research     was conducted by Barbara Myerhoff on several occasions.     A prime example would be in the documentary “Number our days”     when she would sit in with the old Jewish community in Venice     California. She built a relationship with the members there     and was able to congregate and even speak at the meetings,     a sign...