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4 part workshop, ÌýTuesdays 1-3:30pm, Feb 4-Feb 25, IBS 150

Email instructor Prof. Alison Cool (Anthro) Ìýalison.cool@colorado.edu to register for this non-credit workshop and be added to the email list.

Course Description

The course will explore how and why social scientists use ethnography to make sense of human interaction and experience, and invite students to reflect on how they might adapt and apply ethnographic methods in their own research projects. Course topics will include social theory and ethnography, ethics and research design, interviewing and participant-observation, qualitative data analysis, and thematic coding.

Week 1: February 4

What is ethnography? Why do researchers use ethnographic methods? This week will offer an overview of the course and introductions. Students will describe their research interests and how ethnographic methods might fit into their research projects.

Week 2: February 11

Ethnography and social theory. How does theory inform ethnography and vice versa? This week will cover interviewing and participant-observation. Students will examine anthropological theory to identify research questions and arguments and will practice developing their own theoretically-informed research questions.

Week 3: February 18

Ethics and Ethnographic research design. What kinds of ethical dilemmas arise in ethnographic fieldwork, and what strategies have researchers developed to respond to them? What are participatory and collaborative methods, and when are they appropriate to use? This week will cover practical and theoretical considerations in ethnographic research design, and students will develop their possible project designs.

Week 4: February 25

Analyzing and interpreting ethnographic data. This week offers an introduction to thematic coding, and students will practice developing codes and writing codebooks. We will discuss data management strategies and qualitative data analysis software.

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