ANTH 380.001 ethnographic field methods: the practice of theory

course description

Ethnographic fieldwork has remained in dialectical tension with anthropological theory for over

100 years. It is, therefore, the "practice of theory." The highly experiential world of

ethnographic research has the power to "penetrate" abstractions of social theory--illuminating,

adumbrating, undermining. Of course, ethnography is not just naive empiricism. It is theory that

directs the course of ethnographic fieldwork for, in the words of one anthropologist, a "way of

seeing" is simultaneously a way of "not seeing," i.e., aspects of life selected through theory

require an anthropologist to ignore other, possibly puissant, areas of social and cultural life.

"Anthropological theory" and "ethnographic fieldwork" move together, one opening up a critical

space while another reveals a limit; one unveiling a contradiction while another engenders new

possibilities and so on

    On another level, ethnographic fieldwork is a way of knowing intimately related to everyday life, a

method that is very much an extension of our quotidian, phenomenological experience. Whenever

we travel, begin a new job or attend a new school, we engage in something very much like

ethnographic research. So although fieldwork is very much imbricated by questions of

anthropological theory, it is also part of the everyday aesthetics of living. In Paul Willis’s words,

art is "a defining and irreducible quality at the heart of everyday human practices and interactions"

(3). In our interpretations of everyday life, we will need to tap into our artistic sensibilities of the

everyday.  This course will, fittingly, adopt multiple perspectives on ethnographic research. On the one

hand, we will consider ethnography’s relationship--historical and theoretical--to cultural

anthropology. We will consider the historical development of ethnography from early

experiments in the mid-nineteenth century up to the present and link those putatively

methodological developments to theoretical debates (then and now) in cultural anthropology.

We will also review experimentation in ethnographic methods as sometimes oblique challenges to

anthropology’s status quo.  But we will also engage a great deal in the practice of ethnographic research,

structuring class activities that bridge the gaps between everyday understanding and experiential, ethnographic

knowledge. Additionally, students will take the first steps towards their own ethnography,

following the building blocks of ethnographic research from the initial proposal through the initial

site survey.

course objectives

1). Students will understand ethnographic methodology as arising in a context of anthropological

theory.

2). Students will study contemporary (and even experimental) methodologies through careful

readings of ethnographies.

3). Students will become familiar with qualitative methods germane to the anthropological

encounter: participant observation, interviews, life stories and visual anthropology.

4). Students will design an ethnographic project, set up research instruments and attempt

nonintrusive observations.

required reading: 

Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir.  The Sign of Four.  Urbana, Illinois (USA): Project Gutenberg Etext #2097.

-First release: Mar 2000.  http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext00/sign410.txt

LiPuma, Edward.  Encompassing Others.  Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.

Williams, Brett.  Debt for Sale.  Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. 

Additional required readings (see below) are available online through Cook Library's JSTOR and EBSCO indices. 

graded assignments

In-Class Assignments (Due on assigned days) Students will each complete two, in-class

"projects" over the course of the semester. Projects will include 1) books reports; 2) acting as an

informant for "in-class" ethnographies; 3) engaging in and reporting on truncated instances of

"fieldwork" inside or outside the class. We’ll begin in-class assignments during week 2.

Research Proposals (February 16) Students must write a one-page description of their

proposed ethnographic research project. Proposals should answer the journalistic 4 Ws and 1 H

(Who, What, Where, When, Why and How).

Historical/Background Research (April 4) Students must complete a five (5) page

background report on their research site. Essays should both contextualize and historicize the

site, using relevant historical and archival sources. Students should show how their particular

research question arises out of problems germane to the research site.

Oral Reports (Last 2 weeks of  class) Students will briefly summarize their ethnographic findings, highlighting 

areas for future ethnographic work.

Ethnographic Reports (May 11) Using a modified (and less intrusive) form of participant

observation, students will spend between 2-4 weeks engaged in ethnographic research, after

which they will write a report summarizing method and analyzing data (however perfunctory) in

the light of the aforementioned Historical/Background Research. I will be handing out more

precise research guides later in the semester.

Final Examination (May 18) Students will demonstrate their knowledge of

readings by answering a battery of true-false, multiple choice and short answer questions.

Grading

In-class assignments: 40 pts.

Research proposal: 20 pts.

Background paper: 40 pts.

Oral Report:    20 pts.

Ethnographic report: 50 pts.

Final examination: 30 pts.

Explanation of Grading:

A+    186+

A-     180-185

B+    174-179

B       166-173

B-      160-165

C+     154-159

C       146-153

C-     140-145

D+    134-139

D       120-133

F       <120

class schedule:

1st Week         Introduction to the course and explanation of syllabus.

(1/26)              

2nd Week        Ethnographer and Flaneur

(1/31-2/2)                Film:  "The Sign of Four" (1988)

                        Assigned Reading:  Doyle, "The Sign of Four"

                        February 3--Change of Schedule Period Ends.   

3rd Week        Varieties of Ethnographic Research.

(2/7-2/9)        Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 1-84

                        In-class assignments begin

                        Additional Reading: Pels, Peter (1999).  "Professions of Duplexity: A Prehistory of Ethical Codes in Anthropology."

                        Current Anthropology 40(2).  [JSTOR]                       

4th Week        The History of Anthropological Fieldwork

(2/14-2/16)      Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 85-127

                        February 16: Research Proposals Due

                        Additional Reading: Mintz, Sidney (2000).  "Sows Ears and Silver Linings."  Current Anthropology 41(2).

                        [EBSCO]

5th Week       Contemporary Anthropological Fieldwork

(2/21-2/23)      Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 128-185

                        Additional Readings: Hendry, Joy (2003).  "An Ethnographer in the Global Arena."  Global Networks 3(4).

                        [Academic EBSCO]

6th Week       Challenges to the Anthropological Episteme

(2/28-3/2)       Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 186-207

                        Williams, pp. 1-32

                        Additional Readings: Faubion, James D. (2001).  "Toward an Anthropology of Ethics."  Representations.

                        [JSTOR]

7th Week        Foundations of Ethnographic Research: Global histories in situ

(3/7-3/9)          Library Research Methods

                        Assigned Reading:  LiPuma, pp. 208-245

                        Williams, pp. 33-60

                        Additional Readings: Anderson, Michael (1999).  The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5(1).

                        [JSTOR]

8th Week        Fieldwork: "A Predicament Turned Into a Method."

(3/14-3/16)      Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 246-274

                        Williams, pp. 61-91

                        Additional Readings: Duneier, Michael and Harvey Molotch (1999).  "Talking City Trouble."  The American

                        Journal of Sociology 104(5).  [JSTOR]

9th Week       SPRING BREAK

(3/21-3/23)   

10th Week     The Secret Lives of Informants 

(3/28-3/30)      Assigned Reading: LiPuma, pp. 275-308

                        Additional Readings: Wardle, Huon (1999).  "Jamaican Adventures."  The Journal of the Royal Anthropological

                        Institute 5(4).  [JSTOR]        

11th Week      The Secret Lives of Informants

(4/4-4/6)            Assigned Reading: Williams, pp. 92-124

                          April 6: Last Day to Withdraw with a Grade of "W"

                          April 4: Background Essays Due

12th Week        Participant Observation

(4/11-4/13)        Assigned Reading: Williams, pp. 125-132

13th Week         Scratchnotes, Fieldnotes and Journals

(4/18-4/20)   

14th Week        Varieties of Interviews

(4/25-4/27)          

15th Week        Building Ethnographic Theory

(5/2-5/4)        Oral Reports

16th Week       Oral Reports

(5/9-5/11)     May 11: LAST DAY OF CLASSES

                         May 18: Final Examination, 3-5 pm

                         May 10: Final Projects Due

notes
1. Although exams and graded work will remain as stated above, I may have to change different readings or films on the syllabus throughout the semester. I will, in any case, try to give you ample warning of any syllabus changes.
2. Each student is required to review and understand the University's rules regarding cheating and plagiarism (Towson University Undergraduate Catalog, Appendix F). Neither will be tolerated in my class and will result in a flunking grade.

Department Statement on Academic Dishonesty

The faculty of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice take a strong stand against Academic Dishonesty of all forms.  Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any class.  It includes, but is not limited to, any form of cheating or unapproved help on an exam or academic exercise, copying someone else’s written work without citation, presenting fabricated information as legitimate, any unauthorized collaboration among students, or assisting someone to cheat in any way.  All students have the ethical responsibility for doing their own work.  A student who is uncertain about whether or not something constitutes academic dishonesty in a particular class has the obligation to see their instructor for clarification.  Consistent with university policy, the minimum penalty for academic dishonesty in any form is determined by the individual faculty member in each class, and may consist of “a reduced grade (including “F” or zero) for the assignment; a reduced grade (including “F”) for the entire course,” or other options as stipulated in Appendix F of the Undergraduate Catalog.  Students who are charged with academic dishonesty must remain enrolled in the course and cannot withdraw.  Instructors who make the determination that academic dishonesty has occurred will notify the student in writing of the finding, the penalty, and the process for appeal.  The same written notice will be forwarded

3. Students with learning disabilities should register at the Disability Support Services Office.

explanation of grading
Consistent with University policy, the following grades will be assigned according to the designated criteria:
A: A superior performance surpassing assigned work in unique and novel ways and
integrating diverse ideas from a wide range of sources in addition to those discussed in class.
A-
B+
B: Excellent work surpassing the expectations of the assignment and demonstrating initiative
and a willingness to move beyond the basic requirements of the assigned work.
B-
C+
C: Satisfactory work meeting all basic requirements of the assignment.
C-
D+
D: Work in some way less than satisfactory. Although conforming to basic requirements in some way, the completed work is nevertheless not a coherent response to the
assignment.
F: A profoundly unsatisfactory performance which doesn't meet
the intent of the assignment at any level.