ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the methodology and research design that yielded the empirical portions of this book. The claims that I make about Metropolis East and other cities are based on an auto-ethnographic case study that took place from 2015 to 2017. Part I begins with an overview of the politics and ethics in being an “insider” and researcher in the nightlife economy. I share an accessible overview of the auto-ethnographic case study method and the specific approach I took in conducting my fieldwork. Part II offers social and cultural insights, from my own subjective experience, into the occupational environment and the overall climate of the spaces that I inhabited during this project. The purpose of this chapter is to share both observations and experiences from working in this sector, and give some insights into blue-collar shiftwork in a way that avoid romanticizing the bartending profession or the nightlife scene. I share some insights into tipping culture, the racialized and gendered workplace, and the aesthetic consumption that takes place in bars and nightclubs.
