Critical Social Inquiry 0218 - Ethnographic Method & Craft

Places and our attachments to them are a profound part of human experience. We imbue places with layers of cultural meaning and these places shape us, as both individuals and groups. How we make and relate to places, is also shaped by our cultural and social contexts. Place-making and place-meaning are about sharing experiences through stories. Place, then, is an excellent way to develop skills for ethnographic storytelling. In this course, we will examine place as an aspect of human cultural and social life as a way to develop skills for writing ethnography. We will begin building a toolkit of methods for understanding place in human societies and cultures. We will critically engage historical and contemporary ethnographic accounts of place and place-making around the globe. Students will use these experiences to develop their own ethnographic craft through exercises and projects, culminating in creative ethnographic final projects.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.