This will be the shortest quarterly report so far. In early October I had major surgery. I spent most of October recovering enough to be able to fulfill my teaching obligations. November and December were spent trying to fully recover my strength. In fact, I am still working on that. Consequently I was able to do very little about my Oak Pakr study during this quarter. Hopely the next quarterly report will reflect some real progress.

I was able to hire Rebecca Carlson, a Temple graduate film student, to act as my editorial assistant. She was able to fine turn the video portion of the portrait - improve the sound, reach a uniform a color balance, etc. In December I gave her a short epilogue in which the Taylors discussed their reaction to the body of the video. It was incorporated. This portion of the portrait is now complete. I will strike a videotape of the portrait and circulate it for critical comments. As Rebecca is applying to become a Ph.D student in our visual program, I am looking forward to having her assist me on the other portraits.

I have spent the second half of December and will spend most of the next quarter writing "modules" that will accompany the video. Some of these modules are ones that I will use with the other portraits, such as a description of the project, and other will be specifically for the Taylor portrait, such as a history of African Americans in Oak Park. I also plan at least one powerpoint photo essay.

Once some of the modules are completed I can begin the task of find a format that will allow me to intergrate the texts and videos into an interactive system. I hope to find someone who will assist me in constructing a template that will work for all of the portraits. I have the names of several designers who appear to be able to assist me. Hopefully they will be within the limited range of my budget.

I organized a panel on suburban ethnographies for the American Anthropological Association meetings. Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois, Chicago political scientist and Oak Park resident, delivered a paper on the perils of doing ethnography inside the community where you live. I gave a paper entitled, "When Is A Suburb, Not A Suburb? When it is Oak Park." in which I discussed how Oak Park confounds the cliquéd image of a suburb as a place of malls, sprawl, out of control growth, and boring architecture. In spite of the fact that the session was scheduled for 10a.m. on Sunday, the last day of the conference, we had a nice turnout.