___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
W%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW
Anthropology 290:
Ethnographic Methods
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
W%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW%VW
Course Information
Professor: Jeanne L. Shea, Ph.D, Williams Hall, Room 515
Class meetings: Tu Th 9:30-10:45, Williams Hall, Room 403
Office hours: Tu Th 11:00-11:30 am, 2:00-2:30 pm, Williams 515
Prof. phone/email/website: 802-656-3181, jlshea@uvm.edu, www.uvm.edu/~jlshea
Course Description
This seminar provides a space for advanced students to actively consider, discuss, and experience theoretical, ethical, and practical issues surrounding research methods in the field of sociocultural anthropology.
In this course, students will have the opportunity to learn about and to try their hand at various methods used in the collection, analysis, and expression of research materials in sociocultural anthropology.
Through assigned readings, in-class discussions, and various course assignments, we will consider ethical and practical issues involved in anthropological fieldwork, assess and debate the poetics and politics of ethnographic writing, and learn how to design a research project and how to persuasively present a research proposal.
In the process, students will have the chance to gain hands-on experience in interviewing, participant observation, ethnographic writing, research project design, writing up a research proposal, presenting a research proposal, critically analyzing and discussing readings, and professionally evaluating anthropological research and writing.
This course is designed for students who want to take the next step from hearing about other people’s anthropological research and analyses to learning how to also do their own original research, critical analysis, and ethnographic writing. In this course, we will learn-by-doing and thus gain a new perspective on the interactions between theory and practice, method and data, research and writing, and past and present research.
Prerequisites for this course include Anthropology 21 and a 100-level anthropology course and a commitment to active participation, critical reflection, informed discussion, spirited debate, and to learning both from one’s own experience and from the experiences of others.
Welcome to the course and to the journey toward being a
practicing anthropologist!
Professor Profile
Grew up in rural northern
Assigned Work
Assignments Due
Date Percent
of Grade
Class participation (c.p.) due regularly throughout the semester 25%
Find ethnography to read due by September 16 part of c.p.
Draft of proposal plan due September 23, beginning of class part of c.p.
Ethnographic Book
Review due October 2, beginning of class 10%
Draft of informed consent due October 14, beginning of class part of c.p.
Draft of p.o. ref./protocol due October 16, beginning of class part of c.p.
Draft of interview ref./proto. due October 21, beginning of class part of c.p.
Draft of project bibliography due October 28, beginning of class part of c.p.
Order interlibrary loan stuff do by October 28 to be safe part of c.p.
P.O. fieldnotes due November 4, beginning of class part of c.p.
Interview sum./transcript due November 6, beginning of class part of c.p.
P.O. Essay due by November
11, beginning of class 10%
Interview Essay due by November 13,
beginning of class 10%
Proposal Oral
Presentation due Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 4, 9
as assigned 10%
Draft of proposal due by Dec. 9, beginning of class part of c.p.
Final Research
Proposal due December 19, noon 35%
Optional Rewrites due December 19, noon *see note
*Optional rewrite of book review, participant observation (p.o.) essay, and/or interview essay: The grade of an essay with sufficient improvement in the rewrite will be changed to an average of the original and the rewrite grade.
Work tip for students
It is important that during the first three weeks of class you think carefully about and do your best to decide what you would like to do for your final research proposal. Although the final research proposal is not due until late in the semester, there are many reasons why it is important that you make a decision about your topic early in the semester:
1). It will take you a great deal of time to do the planning, research, writing, and revising necessary to prepare your final research proposal and the associated oral presentation.
2). The earlier you start the process of working on your research proposal, the more opportunities you will have for feedback and improvement of the proposal along the way.
3). Deciding early will give you more time to consult with reference librarians and to order interlibrary loan materials (usually I.L.L. has a fall deadline of mid-November).
4). By deciding early, you will be able to coordinate your book review, p.o. essay, and interview essay so that all or most of them relate to your research proposal plan. That way you can do double-duty on those assignments and everything can feed into helping you prepare your proposal presentation, proposal draft, and final research proposal.
Class participation (c.p.)
Completion of all required readings before class.
Attendance and prompt arrival at all class meetings.
Active oral participation in class discussion with informed analysis and specific examples.
Attentively listening to and respectfully acknowledging each others’ points of view.
Striking a balance between expressing oneself and encouraging others to participate.
Giving thoughtful, diplomatic responses to differences of opinion.
Attending and giving feedback on other students’ oral presentations of their proposals.
Assigned reading
Martyn Hammersley and Paul Atkinson, Ethnography: Principles in Practice (bookstore)
Joseph Maxwell, Qualitative Research Design (bookstore)
James Clifford and George Marcus, Poetics and Politics of Ethnography (bookstore)
Margery Wolf, A Thrice Told Tale (bookstore)
Assorted reserve readings (Bailey-Howe Library reserves)
An ethnography of your choice in consultation with prof. (e.g., Malinowski’s Argonauts of the Western Pacific, Anna Tsing’s Into the Realm of the Diamond Queen, etc.)
Draft of proposal plan
Memo on what topic you would like to do your research proposal on and how you plan to go about it. Minimum of two pages, typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins. See below for more on research proposal.
Ethnographic book review
Book review of an ethnography of your choice in consultation with professor. Follow the format of the sample model book reviews to be handed out in class. 5-6 pages typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins. See guidelines for the evaluation of papers handout.
Draft of informed consent
Drafts of lay summary and informed consent form for both your participant observation fieldwork for your p.o. essay and your interview fieldwork for your interview essay. See guidelines for lay summary and informed consent forms to be handed out in class. 1-2 pages typed, single-spaced within paragraphs, double-spaced between paragraphs, one-inch margins.
Draft of p.o. (participant
observation) reflections/protocol
Draft of your thoughts on how you will do
your participant observation for your p.o. essay. The draft should include identification of
the type of fieldsite you plan to study, how you plan
to gain access to your fieldsite, your assumptions
about your fieldsite and your topic and the people
you will observe, how you plan to present yourself and your project, how people
at the fieldsite might relate to you and aspects of
your identity (p.o. reflections), what your research
questions are, what kinds of participation and observations you plan to do, and
how you will record your observations in the field (p.o.
protocol). 2-3 pages typed,
double-spaced, one-inch margins.
Draft of interview reflections/protocol
Draft of your thoughts on what kind of person you plan to
interview for your interview essay, what topic you plan to focus on in your
interview with that person, how you plan to gain access to interview that
person, how you plan to present yourself and your project, your assumptions and
expectations about the interview (interview reflections), what your research
questions are, what your interview questions will be, and how you will record
the interview (interview protocol). 2-3
pages typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins.
Draft of project bibliography, Order interlibrary loan materials
Draft of your bibliography for your project proposal. Should include at least 10 high-quality sources, not more than three of which should normally be web sources. Include annotations of a sentence or two on why this source will be helpful to your project proposal and where you can get the source. Order interlibrary loan materials and sign out library books as soon as possible.
P.O. (participant observation) essay
Essay decribing what you learned from your experience of doing participant observation at a fieldsite of your choice. You should choose a public fieldsite of some sort, gain any needed permission to participate and observe, and think ahead of time about what your research questions about the field situation might be and how you might carry out your participant observation. After you do your participant observation and write up fieldnotes about what you observed and experienced, write an essay with roughly one-third to half of the content on what you learned about the topic you were studying and about one-third to half on what you learned from your experience about using this research method. 5-6 pages typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins. Also, hand in a copy of your p.o. reflections/protocol and fieldnotes. See guidelines for the evaluation of papers handout.
Interview essay
Essay decribing what you learned from your experience of doing an interview with a research subject of your choice. You should choose a research subject of some sort, gain informed consent with a lay summary and informed consent form, and decide what your research questions and interview questions will be. If possible and okay with your research subject, you should both tape-record the interview and jot down notes. After you do your interview, listen to the interview tape, and write down more complete notes on the interview and what was said, summarizing the bulk of the interview and transcribing word-for-word at least five minutes of key quotes. Then, like with the previous assignment, write an essay with roughly one-third to half of the content on what you learned about the topic you were studying and about one-third to half on what you learned from your experience about using this research method. 5-6 pages typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins. Also hand in a copy of your interview reflection/protocol and summary/transcription of interview. See guidelines for the evaluation of papers handout.
Research proposal
The research proposal assignment is your opportunity to bring together and practically apply all of the knowledge, skills, and experiences that you gain in this course. It gives you the hands-on opportunity to design an ethnographic research project in all its dimensions from the ground up.
Your research proposal can either be for a hypothetical research project that you would like to do or for an actual research project that you hope or plan to do. You may do the research proposal on any appropriate ethnographic research topic of your choice. Since you will be investing a great deal of thought, time, and energy into this project over the course of the semester, it will be important for you that you choose a topic about which you care deeply -- something for which you have an real passion. One way to think about making the decision is: What have you always wanted to learn more about? What kinds of issues, debates, people, places, activities, events, or experiences, etcetera interest you so much and seem so important to you that you would spend time exploring them outside class if you had the chance?
Proposal oral presentation
Fifteen-minute oral in-class presentation on your research proposal. The further along you are by this point, the better your presentation will be and the more useful the feedback you can gain from the class. See guidelines for oral presentations handout.
Draft of Proposal
You should start working on the various aspects of your proposal draft early in the semester as soon as you decide on a topic. By the due date for the proposal draft, you should turn in a draft of as much of your research proposal as you can: Again, the more you have ready by this point and the further along it is, the more useful the feedback is likely to be.
Final research proposal
The final research proposal should include the parts listed below. The body of the research proposal should be a minimum of 10-14 pages, typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. See guidelines for the evaluation of papers and guidelines for research project proposals handouts. The proposal should discuss and cite at least ten high-quality outside sources, not more than three of which should normally be websites. The proposal should contain headings and subheadings so that it is easy to read, and it should be free of spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and typos. Remember: In the real world, a sloppy, hard-to-read proposal may mean that your project does not receive approval or funding. Be sure to give your work the professional presentation it deserves.
Front matter: Cover letter, Cover page, Abstract.
Body of research proposal: Introduction, Literature review and significance, Research questions, Research subjects and fieldsite, Research methods, Preliminary research results, Dissemination of research results, Conclusion.
Appendix: Annotated bibliography, Description of ethical protections, Lay summary and informed consent form, Examples of research instruments.
Students with
Special Needs or With Scheduling Conflicts or Other Difficulties
An important part of your responsibilities as a college student is to inform your instructors in a timely manner of any special needs, scheduling conflicts, religious obligations, medical problems, or family emergencies that may affect your ability to complete your coursework.
For example, ACCESS students should confirm that I have received a letter from the ACCESS office, and contact me during the first two weeks of class to discuss accommodations arrangements.
Students with scheduling conflicts due to religious obligations, family duties, pre-scheduled medical appointments, sports competitions, artistic performances, or other extracurricular commitments should contact me during the first two weeks of class and provide me with a letter with a written schedule of their commitments.
If unexpected health problems, physical or mental or emotional difficulties, or personal or family emergencies arise, you should contact me as soon as you can and keep in mind that the Office of the Dean of Students, the Student Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Center for Health and Wellbeing, the Learning Coop, and many other resources are available to assist you.
Course Policies
This section addresses course policies to ensure a positive and fair learning environment and to make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of the expectations in this course.
Preparation: Assigned readings must be completed prior to each class meeting. Inadequate preparation will impair your ability to participate effectively in class discussion and perform well in your written work. Class discussions will assume completion of assigned readings. It is your responsibility to make sure to complete all of the readings in a timely fashion.
Attendance: Attendance at each class meeting is crucial to your ability to do well in this course. Classes will start promptly. Students are expected to arrive in the classroom on time and to remain in the classroom until the end of the class. No absences and no tardiness can be permitted without consequences unless documentation of a serious health problem, family emergency, religious obligation, or other excused reason is provided. Unexcused absences, tardiness, or early departures will bring down the student's class participation grade. If you do need to be absent, with or without an excused reason, please touch base with the professor via a brief note or email as soon as you can. If, during class, you need to arrive late or leave early, you should do so quietly and considerately, leaving a brief note with your name, the date, and an explanation. It is your responsibility to make up any content that you miss due to absence from class.
Conduct: All members of the class are expected to be attentive and considerate, to work together to create a positive and invigorating learning environment, and to treat each other with respect and compassion. In the classroom, students are expected to actively participate in course discussions, to ask questions and express their analyses of issues raised in readings, to encourage others to participate in discussion, to listen respectfully to others' points of view, and to respond diplomatically to differences of opinion. Inappropriate conduct will bring down the student's class participation grade.
Late papers and make-ups: Late papers cannot be accepted, extensions cannot be granted, and make-ups cannot be given without documentation of a serious health problem, family emergency, religious obligation, or other excused reason. Please mark your calendars and set your alarm clocks carefully. Unexcused absence on the day that a presentation is scheduled will result in a zero on the presentation in question. Unexcused late papers will be marked down by a full letter grade per day late (e.g., one to twenty-four hours late, an A- becomes a B-).
Plagiarism and cheating: Plagiarism and cheating hamper a person's ability to learn and grow and create original work, and they stunt a group's ability to maintain fairness, honesty, and trust. Please familiarize yourself with proper citation practices and definitions of plagiarism and cheating. It is important to be aware that violations can result in serious consequences, including a failing grade on the essay, paper, or presentation in question. If you any questions concerning the line between doing your own work and copying the work of others, please do not hesitate to ask.
________________________________________________________________________
Anthropology 290:
Ethnographic Methods Prof.
Shea, Fall 2003
________________________________________________________________________
Course Schedule
Introduction
09/02 Orientation
to course and to research methods in sociocultural
anthropology
Ethnographic Writing
09/04 Debates over the definition of ethnographic writing
Pratt in
Clifford, Fieldwork in Common Places
Wolf, A Thrice Told Tale, ch. 1
09/09 Fieldnotes, fiction, ethnography: What’s the
difference?
09/11 Some issues to consider in reading ethnographic writing
Clifford, Introduction: Partial Truths
Rosaldo in Clifford, From
the Door of His Tent
Marcus in
Clifford, Contemporary Problems of
Ethnography
Research Methods in Sociocultural
Anthropology
09/16 Introduction to library and web resources for research (*Bailey-Howe Library)
09/18 Principles
in research design
09/23 Issues of
access, and The art of field relations
**Proposal
Plan due
09/25 Research
ethics in sociocultural anthropology and Informed
consent
American Anth. Association, AAA Professional Code of Ethics (www.aaanet.org)
09/30 Issues of
gender and sexuality in the field
10/02 Discussion
of student reviews of ethnographies
**Ethnographic Book Review due
10/07 Participant observation
10/09 Interviewing
10/14 Generating
and dealing with qualitative data
**Lay summary and informed consent forms
due for p.o. and interview
10/16 In-class practicum: Developing a participant observation protocol
**Draft of participant observation
protocol due
10/21 In-class practicum:
Designing interview questions
**Draft of interview questions due
10/23 Analysis of qualitative data
10/28 The
scholarly literature review and Designing research project proposals
**Draft of project bibliography due,
Order any interlibrary loan sources by now
10/30 The art of
writing research project proposals
Also, browse Locke, Proposals That Work (on reserve)
Also, browse Krathwohl, How to Prepare a Research Proposal (on reserve)
11/04 Writing
ethnographically: In-class practicum:
Analyzing and writing about
participant observation data
**Bring in your p.o.
fieldnotes and p.o.
reflections/protocol
11/06 Writing
ethnographically: In-class practicum:
Analyzing and writing about
interview data
**Bring
in interview summary/transcription and interview reflections/protocol
11/11 Quantitative
data: design, collection, and analysis
**P.O. Essay due
11/13 Visual and
audiovisual data
**Interview Essay due
11/18 The art of
presenting research project proposals
11/20 No Class – American Anthropological Association meeting
**Research Project Proposal Presentations
11/25 Proposal
Presentations
Presenters: ________________________________________________________
11/27 No Class – Thanksgiving Break
12/02 Proposal
Presentations
Presenters: ________________________________________________________
12/04 Proposal
Presentations
Presenters: ________________________________________________________
12/09 Proposal
Presentations
Presenters: ________________________________________________________
**Proposal Draft due
12/19 **Final
Research Proposal and Optional Rewrites due
[*Note: This syllabus
is provisional and may be subject to modification by the professor during the
course of the semester in the event of unexpected opportunities or unforeseen
challenges encountered by the class.]
[Front matter]
Cover letter
Cover page
Abstract
[Body of the proposal]
Introduction (a brief introductory overview of the project)
Literature review and significance (a description of the issues and debates you are addressing with reference to related work of other scholars, and the scholarly and practical significance of the project within the context of other related research)
Research questions (the main research questions which your project will address)
Research subjects and fieldsite
Research methods (gaining access, sampling, data collection, data analysis, etcetera)
Preliminary research results (if applicable, e.g., from your interview or p.o.)
Dissemination of research results (to scholarly community and people you studied)
[Appendix]
annotated bibliography (full citations and brief descriptions for at least ten high-quality outside sources, not more than three of which should normally be websites)
description of ethical protections
lay summary and informed consent form
examples of research instruments (e.g., interview questions, participant observation plan)