Exercising the Ethnographic Perspective

The article "Pearl to be inducted into National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame" announces the induction of a current coach at the University of Tennessee. Basketball coach, Bruce Pearl will be officially accepted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Museum on June 8 of this year. His ceremony will be held at the Suffolk Jewish Community Center in Commack, N.Y. The article also mentions additional inductees who will join Coach Bruce Pearl on this special occasion.

In regards to the cultural issues, the article is very brief and vague. It is evident that being accepted into a Jewish hall of fame is a cultural matter because of religion. It would have been beneficial to the readers, as well as the overall article, if the reporter would have dug deeper into this subject.

To further uncover the culture of the article, the reporter should have performed some research himself. Facts pertaining to the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Museum would have been helpful and also entertaining. When and why was this hall of fame created? Who are some influential people in this hall of fame? What criteria does a nominee have to meet to qualify as possible candidate for this honor? In general, how does society view this Honor?

Interviewing Coach Bruce Pearl would have been very advantageous. The reporter would not only be looking at this subject from the outsider perspective, but experiencing it firsthand would lead him to the insider perspective as well. Questions worth asking him would be how he reacted to being accepted into the Nation Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Is it an honor that he has always wanted to reach? How has knowing that he will be inducted changed his life? The most important question would be how the Jewish religion has played a role in Pearl’s life.

It would be useful if the reporter would have interviewed others additionally. Gathering other people’s views on this subject would bring further support to his article. An interview with the director of the hall of fame or even the rabbi of Pear’s local synagogue would bring more culture into the article.

An ethnographer could make the article better-rounded for this given cultural event. Performing further research on this topic and representing many perspectives would answer many of the reader’s unanswered questions.