Thick description was a great read! I enjoyed this way of looking deeper into ethnography, and to have it compared to anthropology. I liked the way Geertz described the process of how ideas are digested, and what that looks like begin, middle, and end. Trying to "apply and extend it" where ever it may fit, before it comes back down from the "all promising scope" we give it initially. This caused me to reflect a lot on my own digestive process when it comes to new ideas and concepts.
The following quote really stuck out to me: "Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning." It puts these ideas into imagery which is always helpful. It sent me into a "thought rant" about how we [humans] get caught up in these webs.
Throughout this article, Geertz gives extensive examples of what thick description means; one in particular that stood out to me was the example of the boys winking/twitching. It was clear to understand how to the regular eye you can't tell the difference, but in my opinion if you're truly observing a group of people, there are gestures that occur before and after the wink that make it clear whether it was intentional or not.
The Frake article on ordering a drink in Subanun was a good example of what an ethnographic piece can look like. It got the point across and I learned a lot about a clearly important part of the Subanun culture. It was nice to read an ethnographic piece - rather than another piece about ethnography and what it is, and isn't. As I have said before, I always appreciate a piece that is broken down into clear sections like this one. Describing each step and the importance of it. Well done.
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