Gianna Linnert
Angelina Fierro
Debbie Anderson
Angela Cheng
Daniel Jimenez
Janali Torres
Despite it being commonplace, there is an air of ambiguity within the current tipping culture in Orange County. This ambiguity is best demonstrated when these current tipping practices are juxtaposed to tipping practices of different countries and/ or different eras. The current tipping practices remain unchanged through time and cultures in the duality of being both personal and impersonal because of monetary exchange for services. The following history and interviews explore how the tipping practices, specifically at restaurants, can and have been personalized and whether or not this personalization should occur. The interviewees in this collection of ethnographic accounts are individuals who are either senior citizens or recent immigrants, selected in order to gain a perspective of current tipping practices in Orange County across different cultures and periods of time. Click here to learn more about tipping practices across time, space and culture.
1 comment:
I absolutely love this paper and this project. The students uncovered all sorts of aspects of tipping behavior that I knew nothing about: gender dimensions; tipping as a form of assimilation; tipping and "mis-tipping" as a kind of socialization; as well as all the tricks to tipping (like leaving the tip in cash when you pay with a credit card, so that it can stay off the books). I also appreciate the range of interviews that the students were able to conduct, and the thoughtful use of Simmel, Zelizer and Guyer to explore the phenomenon. The paper really shines in its presentation of the interview data: we meet characters we will not soon forget! And we come away with a new perspective not just on tipping, but on what money can be used to do for social relationships over time as well as in the diverse communities of southern California, where everyone from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds encounters one another at... the restaurant or cafe counter.
Post a Comment