ANTH 380.001 ethnographic field methods: the
practice of theory
|
instructor: Samuel Collins MW, 3:30-4:45 pm Li-005 |
office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 1-3 pm Room Li-318A Phone: x3199 (e-mail) scollins@towson.edu homepage: pages.towson.edu/scollins |
course description
Like Harold Garfinkel’s absurdist research in “ethnomethodology,” all of us alive today are engaged in protracted anthropological investigations of ourselves, the people we meet and the world around us. That is, the world continuously fails to meet our expectations, and we variously collect and interpret “empirical data” in order to make sense of it all. Why is someone acting strangely? Why are those people laughing? Why is that restaurant or bar popular? In other words, all of us are nonce ethnographers, charged with interpreting our own complex, cultural lives. This is serious work: failure to interpret correctly means loss of friendship and opportunity; success brings with it social and even monetary reward.
However: ethnography and fieldwork are also central to cultural anthropology. More than any particular “subject,” anthropologists define themselves more and more with reference to method, which is, itself, bound up in countless ways with the development of anthropology itself.
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
But 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.
Learning Outcomes
Upon satisfactory completion of the course, students will be able to:
1). Communicate ethnographic methodology as arising in a context of anthropological
theory.
2). Critically compare contemporary (and even experimental) methodologies through careful
readings of ethnographies.
3). Utilize qualitative methods germane to the anthropological
encounter: participant observation,
interviews, life stories and visual anthropology.
4). Communicate research findings.
required reading:
Cerwonka, Allaine and Liisa H. Malkki (2007). Improvising Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Robben, Antonius and Jeffrey Sluka, eds. (2007). Ethnographic Fieldwork. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
West, Harry G. (2007). Ethnographic Sorcery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
graded assignments
In-Class Assignments (Due on assigned days) Students will each complete four, 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. 75 pts.
Mid-term Examination (October 10) Students will demonstrate their knowledge of
readings by answering a battery of true-false, fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. 50 pts.
Research Proposals (December 10) Students must write a three to four page proposal for ethnographic research during a future, one-semester independent study or study abroad experience. The essay should describe research questions, methodology, ethical considerations and analysis. 50 pts.
Final Examination Students will demonstrate their understanding of ethnographic methodologies by applying concepts and theories from readings and lectures to a short, film clip. 25 pts.
Explanation of Grading:
A+ 186+
A- 180-185
B+ 174-179
B 166-173
B- 160-165
C+ 154-159
C 140-153
D+ 134-139
D 120-133
F <120
class schedule:
1st Week Introduction to the course and explanation of syllabus.
(8/27-8/29) Assigned reading: Robben and Sluka, pp. 1-28
2nd Week Ethnographer and Flaneur
(9/5) Readings: Robben and Sluka, pp. 359-367; pp. 347-358
September 3—Labor Day.
September 5—Change of Schedule Period Ends.
In-class assignments begin
3rd Week Varieties of Ethnographic Research.
(9/10-9/12) Assigned Reading: Cerwonka and Malkki, pp. 1-40.
Robben and Sluka, pp. 404-416
4th Week The History of Anthropological Fieldwork
(9/17-9/19) Assigned Reading: Robben and Sluka, pp. 108-120; 137-158
5th Week Contemporary Anthropological Fieldwork
(9/24-9/26) Assigned Reading: Robben and Sluka, pp. 476-492
Cerwonka and Malkki, pp. 162-187
6th Week Challenges to the Anthropological Episteme
(10/1-10/3) Assigned Reading: West, 1-18
Robben and Sluka, pp. 202-216
7th Week Foundations of Ethnographic Research: Global histories in situ
(10/8-10/10) Library Research Methods
October 10: MIDTERM EXAMINATION
8th Week Fieldwork: “A Predicament Turned into a Method”
(10/15-10/17) Assigned Reading: Cerwonka and Malkki, pp. 44-74
9th Week The Secret Lives of Informants
(10/22-10/24) Assigned Reading: West, pp. 19-38
Robben and Sluka, pp. 455-464.
10th Week Participant Observation
(10/29-10/31) Assigned Reading: Robben and Sluka, pp. 455-475.
Cerwonka and Malkki, pp. 75-104
11th Week The Ethical Mangle
(11/5-11/7) Assigned Readings: Robben and Sluka, pp. 288-297; 316-324
November 7: Last day to withdraw with a grade of ‘W’
12th Week Scratchnotes, Fieldnotes and Journals
(11/12-11/14) Assigned reading: Cerwonka and Malkki, pp. 105-161
13th Week Varieties of Interviews
(11/19) Assigned Reading: West, pp. 39-76
14th Week Building Ethnographic Theory
(11/26-11/28) Assigned Reading: Robben and Sluka, pp. 159-176
West, pp. 71-93
15th Week Ethnographic possibilities
(12/3-12/5)
16th Week
(12/10) Research proposal Due.
notes
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.
Cheating and Plagiarism policy: Our department has the following policy 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 to the Office of Judicial Affairs on campus, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and to the Chair’s Office in the department. Academic Dishonesty undermines the legitimate efforts of students and involves serious repercussions. The faculty of the department urge all our students to act with integrity with regard to work submitted. (Approved Spring 2004)
In addition, Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the University’s policy:
http://wwwnew.towson.edu/provost/resources/studentacademic.asp
Students with learning disabilities should register at the Disability Support Services Office. DSS will contact me with necessary accommodations.
4. Late work: Late assignments will be accepted at ½ credit (1-2 days late) or ¼ credit (3-4 days late). After 4 days, late assignments will no longer be accepted.
5. Make-up Work: Under extraordinary circumstances, documented by physicians, police, etc., students may be allowed to make-up missed work.
6. Students who are disruptive may be dismissed from class.
explanation of grading
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.