As I have been considering this more carefully, I am thinking that perhaps talking to tourists would be a very interesting way of going about things, and might lead to nice overlaps with people who are interested in looking at the ways that Amsterdammers themselves understand both the reality and the perceptions of their own country.
I would be interested in seeing where visitors to Amsterdam go and what they do, as well as what their understanding of the Dutch culture of tolerance and permissiveness, and how they develop those perceptions. I'd like to explore how cultural information is transmitted, especially in places that are as beyond most people's experience in their own home-countries as hash bars and the Red Light. I would be interested in seeing how a perceived permissiveness affects and changes people's prejudices and behaviors, both while they are in Amsterdam and after they leave. This research would couple nicely with research about how Amsterdammers view the steady stream of tourists that flock to their cities, and how they understand their own "exotic customs."
Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow.
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I like this idea quite a bit. It probably would not be difficult to get tourists to talk, though I'm not sure what sort of moral restrictions are put on human subjects with regards to interviews (eg. do you have to know who's being interviewed in advance?).
On top of that, you can get a clear understanding of how Amsterdam sees itself, what it thinks of the outside world, and what the outside world thinks of Amsterdam. There are probably some interesting distinctions between all three of those viewpoints, and some good questions to be asked and answered.
I agree...I was also in talks with edward over being in a group together given the similarity of our ideas...I think that we could combine these topics into something really interesting...an outside vs. inside perception of amsterdam... I think that we should talk on Monday assuming we have time to do so, if not in class then definitely after.
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