Not available in 2020/21
MY426 Half Unit
Doing Ethnography
This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Chana Teeger COL7.06
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Applied Social Data Science, MSc in Comparative Politics, MSc in Gender (Research), MSc in Human Geography and Urban Studies (Research), MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Research), MSc in Marketing and MSc in Social Research Methods. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
Pre-requisites
There are no prerequisites but some prior training in qualitative research methods is expected. Please contact the course convenor if unsure.
Course content
Doing ethnography enables us to examine how social order is produced as people go about their everyday interactions. Multiple sources of naturally-occurring data are used to understand how communities, organisations and institutions work, informally as well as formally. Contemporary conditions of globalisation, individualisation, bureaucratisation and digitisation introduce new challenges for such fieldwork. This interdisciplinary course equips students with a practical understanding of how to do, and to think about, contemporary ethnography. Core conceptual, ethical and methodological debates are introduced through in-depth engagement with book-length exemplars, and through students' experience of fieldwork. Fieldwork is a key component of the course, with students collecting data locally, followed by data analysis and presentation activities. Methodological concerns regarding case selection, establishing rigour, reflexivity, representing others, and ethical issues are addressed in detail. Practical issues addressed include identifying and accessing study sites, studying elite and marginalised groups, innovative sources of data, and writing field notes. Emphasising that ethnography relies on the researcher-as-research-instrument, the course aims to develop students' sensitivity and rigour as ethnographic researchers.
Teaching
20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the LT.
Week 6 is a Reading Week during which students work independently on their formative assignments.
Formative coursework
An excerpt of field-notes from the field visit undertaken as part of the course (up to 2,500 words). Field-notes should record rich details of observations (the data), researcher reflections, and brief interpretations of the significance of these observations. Written feedback will be provided.
Indicative reading
DeWalt, K. M.,; DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. AltaMira Press. Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., ; Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. University of Chicago Press. Hammersley, M ; Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in practice. Taylor ; Francis. Wacquant, L. (2004) Body and Soul: Ethnographic Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer. New York: Oxford University Press. Laureau, Annette. (2011). Unreal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (2nd Edition). Berkeley: University of California Press
Assessment
Essay (100%, 4000 words) in the ST.
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.
Key facts
Department: Methodology
Total students 2019/20: 10
Average class size 2019/20: 10
Controlled access 2019/20: Yes
Value: Half Unit
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Specialist skills
