Alien Anthropology What it is “You can observe a lot by watching.” This quotation by the great philosopher Yogi Berra highlights one of the important skills creators use. Whether they’re writers, business managers, teachers, janitors, stay-at-home parents, engineers, or anything else, creators make great use of observation to generate, plan, and implement ideas and innovations. For creators, observation requires more than just looking at a thing and collecting visual data, though. Observation requires a certain mindset. One way to think about this mindset is to consider yourself an alien anthropologist—a curious scholar in a foreign world where everything is new, unfamiliar, and interesting, gathering information in order to make meaning of this strange new world. The curious scholar observes everything around him with a mind and all five senses completely open, absorbing, engaging, and reflecting on the things he sees. Another way to think about observation is to think of it as active reading of your world—reading your world using the same critical reading skills you would use to engage in a work of literature. Making meaning of literature is less about asking “What’s the point of this work?” and more about exploring the possible questions and meanings of a work, and how it connects to other areas of your life and the world. Effective observation also requires good note-taking. Creators often use a journal to take “field notes” on their observations. Specifically, field notes record the immediate, raw sensory data about the thing being observed, and quick, on-the-fly reflections on the thing being observed. The alien anthropology assignment will invite you to practice the all-important skill of observation by observing your own worlds with this mindset, and recording field notes on things that grab your attention. Later in this course, you’ll sift through these field notes and other pieces of writing to locate the subject that you’ll develop into a story or short collection of poems. What to do Observe your everyday world with a receptive, curious eye. Focus on finding something familiar in what at first appears foreign to you, or finding something unfamiliar in what at first appears ordinary. (Once you adopt the proper mindset, you’ll experience this phenomenon everywhere you go.) When you find one of these “somethings” that really grabs your attention, write down a description of it that captures your immediate impressions. These descriptions are your field notes. The something that you write about can be just about anything, so long as it’s a tangible, physical thing: a person or people, an object, a place, an event you witnessed firsthand. Your field notes should not be formal pieces of prose—you don’t need to outline, draft, revise, etc. You’re trying to capture your immediate impressions on the familiar in the foreign, or the unfamiliar in the ordinary, so all you need to write are detailed, copious notes. Absorb and jot down .

1. Alien Anthropology
What it is
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
This quotation by the great philosopher Yogi Berra highlights
one of the important skills creators use. Whether they’re
writers, business managers, teachers, janitors, stay-at-home
parents, engineers, or anything else, creators make great use of
observation to generate, plan, and implement ideas and
innovations.
For creators, observation requires more than just looking at a
thing and collecting visual data, though. Observation requires a
certain mindset. One way to think about this mindset is to
consider yourself an alien anthropologist—a curious scholar in
a foreign world where everything is new, unfamiliar, and
interesting, gathering information in order to make meaning of
this strange new world. The curious scholar observes everything
around him with a mind and all five senses completely open,
absorbing, engaging, and reflecting on the things he sees.
Another way to think about observation is to think of it as
active reading of your world—reading your world using the
same critical reading skills you would use to engage in a work
of literature. Making meaning of literature is less about asking
“What’s the point of this work?” and more about exploring the
possible questions and meanings of a work, and how it connects
to other areas of your life and the world.
Effective observation also requires good note-taking. Creators
often use a journal to take “field notes” on their observations.
Specifically, field notes record the immediate, raw sensory data
about the thing being observed, and quick, on-the-fly reflections
on the thing being observed.

2. The alien anthropology assignment will invite you to practice
the all-important skill of observation by observing your own
worlds with this mindset, and recording field notes on things
that grab your attention. Later in this course, you’ll sift through
these field notes and other pieces of writing to locate the
subject that you’ll develop into a story or short collection of
poems.
What to do
Observe your everyday world with a receptive, curious eye.
Focus on finding something familiar in what at first appears
foreign to you, or finding something unfamiliar in what at first
appears ordinary. (Once you adopt the proper mindset, you’ll
experience this phenomenon everywhere you go.) When you
find one of these “somethings” that really grabs your attention,
write down a description of it that captures your immediate
impressions. These descriptions are your field notes. The
something that you write about can be just about anything, so
long as it’s a tangible, physical thing: a person or people, an
object, a place, an event you witnessed firsthand.
Your field notes should not be formal pieces of prose—you
don’t need to outline, draft, revise, etc. You’re trying to capture
your immediate impressions on the familiar in the foreign, or
the unfamiliar in the ordinary, so all you need to write are
detailed, copious notes. Absorb and jot down all the physical
details you possibly can that illustrate what’s familiar about the
foreign “something,” or what’s unfamiliar about the ordinary
“something.” You might focus on the way a thing looks, moves,
sits, talks, feels, smells, sounds, etc., and details of the
surroundings, too, if that’s important. In any case, be as specific
and vivid in your notes as you can, using as many of your five
senses as possible.
Your field notes SHOULD NOT BE WRITTEN IN LIST FORM.
Why? Because when we write in “list-mode,” we automatically
limit our thinking to very short list items instead of letting our

3. creative brains do their thing with descriptions, etc.
After you’ve recorded the sensory details of your something, jot
down a few more notes that reflect on its abstract meaning. Why
did this thing grab your attention? What broad questions, ideas,
problems, or issues does it raise for you? What might this thing
say about a person, or a community, or a shared behavior?
These questions are only suggestions; you don’t have to respond
to each of them in your notes, and you’re welcome to formulate
your own questions/responses. The point of this part of your
field notes is simply to record some quick, abstract reflection
on the significance of the something you just observed.
How it should look
· Your completed assignment should have at least five entries.
· Title each entry with the date of the observation, the name of
the observed something, and the location. (For example:
“9/1/2016, french fries swimming in mayonnaise, Hawk
Haven.”)
· This assignment should be typed. You can single-space this
assignment. All other formatting guidelines apply (see the
syllabus).
· Leave enough space between each entry so that it’s easy to tell
where one ends and another begins.
· There is no length requirement for your entries—being
exhaustively detailed is the most important thing, and
illuminating the familiar in the foreign or the unfamiliar in the
ordinary. As a loose guideline, though, shoot for at least one
half page of notes for each something you write about.
What to turn in
· Submit your assignment to the Alien Anthropology discussion
thread on our Canvas site.
How it’s graded
This assignment is worth 25 points. To grade this assignment,
I’m primarily looking for entries that use exhaustive detail of
the something you’re describing and its surroundings that uses

4. all five senses, and that illustrate the familiar in the foreign or
the unfamiliar in the ordinary. Of course, I’ll also check to see
that you’ve adhered to the other requirements spelled out in this
handout, including formatting requirements.
Below are several examples of how previous students in this
class have completed the Alien Anthropology assignment. These
are not necessarily perfect examples to model, but they do
highlight most of the important assignment requirements that
many students do not follow through on. In particular, note how
the following examples:
· Are not written in well-crafted, polished sentences. They’re
true “field notes,” or they are quickly-written, unrevised, “raw”
sentences. You should be focusing on the “something” you’re
describing, not on how pretty you can make your sentences.
· Incorporate lots of sensory details—as many of the five senses
in each entry as the authors are able to include.
· Offer some sort of reflection on the deeper or larger
significance of the “something” being observed. Sometimes the
reflections are questions, sometimes they’re observations, but
they always try to look deeper into the “something” being
observed to come away with curious thoughts, ideas, or
questions to ponder.
· Aren’t written from the point of view of an actual alien.
“Alien Anthropology” doesn’t mean you should write as a
literal alien. It means you should be in the world but not of it. It
means you should view your familiar world with the eyes of a
thoughtful, curious visitor to your world. Step outside your own
skin and see your familiar world in an unfamiliar way. See it
again for the first time.
9/8/17 6:09 am - A Cup of Coffee

5. The container is red and taller than it is wide. It has a square-
shaped base and a projection from the left side that is not heated
by the contents as the rest of the container is. The black liquid
reaches almost to the dimple on the inside of the container
where the top of the projection inserts. The container is heavy
for its size. The liquid has a woody sweet smell. Tastes bitter.
When the mug is moved the liquid laps at the top of the
container, but does not spill over. A small plume of steam
leaves the top of the liquid and quickly dissipates. The light
above reflects off of the black surface, creating some pockets of
black that are lighter than others. The liquid looks and feels
heavier than water, but appears to have the same viscosity.
This square mug filled with coffee represents calm. It does not
make noise, does not cause pain or worry or excitement. It just
is. The way the surface of the coffee jumps each time there is a
movement elsewhere on the table, as well as its warmth and
soothing smell, make it calming for an observer to watch.
7/14/2018 Giant trash disposal behind my job
It sits on the hot concrete that is covered in spilled food from
the food court. Covered in a moldy, body odor, cardboard smell.
The base color of the trash disposal is beige-yellow. There are
red and black paint scrapes after being loaded and unloaded
onto trucks. It feels like it was sanded by a giant piece of rust.
As I run my hand near the doors latch I am reminded that I am
grateful to be up-to-date with my tetanus vaccine. I hear the
mall cops driving through the parking lot. So loud going over
the potholes that probably made them wince. When you turn the
key to start the compaction process, it sounds like a loud
clothes dryer. This object grabs my attention because of its
ability to carry so much weight without breaking. Half of the
stores in the mall use this dumpster and each time you use it
you cannot tell how many loads of trash have been thrown in it.
This trash disposal could be symbolic of a depressed person.
This disposal gets loads of trash thrown in it daily but compacts

6. it all so the next person to approach can’t actually tell how
much it has dealt with. Like how a depressed person suppresses
the loads they deal with so nobody can see the pain.
4 September 2017. House with bike in front. Outside of my
childhood home.
I found myself parked outside of my old childhood home. It still
looks the same with its red bricks and green shutters, door, and
mailbox. The friendly black metal rooster weathervane still
perched on top of the garage. The wind is blowing northeast. I
roll down my car window and a breeze that smells like home
meets my face. Like the first breeze of spring, or oxygen
straight from a tree. The familiar Japanese Cherry Blossom tree
waves at me through the wind, like it wants me to climb it
again. The song of cicadas and crickets everywhere.
Remembering their unconventional pattern of chirps as I drifted
off to sleep each night. My eyes shift out of focus as I see
myself, 15 years ago, running carelessly from the front door
into the open fields of green. I see myself laying on the rocky
driveway as I gazed up at the stars. Now, there is a small bike
laying on its side in a sea of grass that is the front yard. The
bike had a vibrantly pink shade along the handles and body of
the bike. It was littered with glitter that made it hard to look at
in the sun. It had a white basket with purple flowers blooming
from the side. The basket was so small that you couldn’t even
fit a small book inside. Must be for decoration. Everything
about the house fit my memories perfectly besides this bike.
This bike belongs to the family who now resides in my
childhood home. They are making new memories on top of our
old memories. Do the halls still remember echoing my laughter
off its walls? Does the kitchen still smell of warm apple pie in
the summer? Does the living room still have a crater in the wall
from when my brother and I played baseball inside? Why is our
childhood home the capital of our memories?
07.12.18, headaches, at home

7. My head is throbbing. I hear my dad scraping up the floor
below. My stress relieving candle from Bath and Body works
seem to be doing no good. At least it smells nice. I cannot find
words to describe how it smells. I will get back to you on that
though. I have the sweet taste of a homemade buckeye in my
mouth that won’t leave despite the gallons of water I drink to
wash it away. I just finished a book. It was pretty epic and kind
of life changing. With each letter I type my head pulsates a
little bit harder it feels like. The flowers on my dresser look
more sad than normal. I wonder what kind of life journey they
had. Where did they come from? Who hand picked them? And
how in the world did they end up in my room? They remind me
of my Nanny. Oh Lord, whenever I think of my Nanny I can
smell moth balls. I associate moth balls with old people now if
you were wondering. Flowers and moth balls. I can almost taste
the moth balls now. Yep, there goes another gallon of water to
wash down that mothball and buckeye taste. I feel myself
slipping under my covers, the candle flickering, the smell of it
filling the room, and my body is demanding me to rest. I think I
will reread that book. That life changing book. What is it about
reading that makes you want to up and change everything. The
smell of the crisp new pages gliding through my fingers makes
me feel at home. So, I think I will read again until I fall deep
into a trance. Goodnight.
9-6-17, leather with five dollars and my license, the chair in the
corner
I don’t know why, but I just took my wallet out to check
how much money I have in it. I’m not even at a restaurant or
store, and I'm not planning to go to one either. So I don’t know
why I got this thing out. Anyways, it caught my attention.
Opening it up brings familiarity. I expand the separate “pocket”
for cash—not impressed. Five bucks. Not even a five dollar bill.
Just five lonely ones that all came from separate owners. All
crumpled up and folded in every direction. None of them look

8. the same, but they all have the same value—just like us, I guess.
I closed up the “pocket” in disappointment. I’m broke—waiting
on my paycheck from my new job: Skyline Chili. It doesn’t pay
much, but it’s enough to keep me going and I’m able to save
some for my travels. I have a tri-fold wallet. Black. Leather.
I’ve had this wallet for three years now and it has held up quite
nicely in my opinion. Taking a sniff, I can still smell the aroma
of leather. Well, aged leather with a small hint of mystery. The
inside—two pockets on the left fold and two on the right. They
are empty. At one time, they were filled with gift cards and
business cards to various restaurants and stores. Now they’re
gone. Used up. Disappeared. The inside has changed over the
years. The middle section holds my license. I hate my license.
The picture is so disgusting. I’m not even smiling and my hair,
electric blue at the time, was styled over to one side. I hate this
thing, but it’s important; so I have to keep it. It’s a normal I.D.,
I guess—all of my info displayed clearly to see. Apparently, by
looking at this thing, you can get a general synopsis of who this
person (me) is. Well, I don’t think it does a very good job. All
it shows is my outward appearance and I’m more worried about
what’s on the inside: the true me. I guess the BMV thinks no
one is interested in that. I closed my wallet back up. What was
once long and spread out is now small. Compact. Closed up.
The outside is a little tore up, I guess. A couple of scratches
here and there and few loose threads in the small stitching. One
might look at it from the outside and think it is useless. Too
beat-up. But they don’t see the inside. The inside is what’s
important. It opens up; revealing all the important things. We
are so quick to judge based on outward appearance, aren’t we?
Why do we focus on the things we can see from a distance when
all it takes is a little unfolding to reveal much more. What do I
think? Opening this old pal of mine gives me a unique aroma. It
reminds me of all my travels: Canada, New York City, France,
England, Oklahoma. It was there; providing everything I
needed. It has my license. It has my five dollars. That’s it. Not
a lot. But still five dollars and a license. Important things. It’s

9. enough for now. And that is enough for me.