Salt fever: An ethnographic narrative in four sections

Abstract

This is an ethnographic narrative describing a subculture from different perspectives and the process of achieving membership by a neophyte: Andy. The narrators tell their tale (cf. Smith, 1993) to the audience (be it a live audience or a distant academic audience through the printed version of this narrative).The fledgling member, Andy recounts his learning experiences in becoming a member of the racing subculture. Kirk, an ‘sold timer’ of these events, fills in the details about the past and present context and history of Bonneville Speed Week. Finally, Andy, in his academic role as Dr. Fontana, (role played by a graduate student in the live version), acts as the “Greek Chorus”, providing a commentary concerning the sociological insights to be found in this narrative.

Citation

Fontana, A. (2001), "Salt fever: An ethnographic narrative in four sections", Denzin, N.K. (Ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction (Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-2396(01)80035-1