Ethnography One Pager

I. For this case study, I chose to focus on code switching from a perspective I feel does not carry enough emphasis: that of the hindsight of a student who has been through the education in a code switching environment, and as a code switcher themselves. I wanted to understand if the code switching that they faced as they grew up affected them as they continue their education at a university level. I was also curious to know if they even realize that they were code switching, or continue to code switch, and how they feel about its prominence in education.
II. Primary Sources: I contacted three students that I know who attend South Carolina State University , a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Aman, Johnerra, and Shannon all grew up and went to school in diverse neighborhoods and experience code switching everyday. I know these students through an antiracism project sponsored by CSU and SCSU.
III. Through my email interviews with Aman, Johnerra, and Shannon, I was somewhat not surprised to discover that until I had mentioned it, they had never even realized that there was such a thing as code switching, or that they were even doing it. They all asserted that they certainly have the ability to speak “correctly”, and consciously do so when they feel a situation requires it, but had never before considered the “concept” of code switching. It was just something they had always been taught to do.
IV. As I continued my discussions with my primary sources, I wondered if because Aman, Johnerra, and Shannon were not aware that they had been code switching all their lives, were they aware of any affects it has had on their lives, or their confidence in their home codes. I know these individuals fairly well, and they are all strong and capable, and proud of the fact that they are black. But I can’t help but wonder if there is, on some subconscious level, that code switching suppresses and/or undermines their home codes.
V. Secondary Sources:

Fecho, Bob. “Critical Inquiries into Language in an Urban Classroom”. Research in the
Teaching of English 34 2000.

Gee, James Paul. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction and What Is
Literacy?”. Journal of English 171 1989 52-72.

Delpit, Lisa. “The Politics of Teaching Literate Discourse”. Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom.

Wheeler, Rebecca S. “Teaching in the World: Code-Switch to Teach Standard English”.
English Journal 94.5 2005