Introduction to Ethnography

Course Number:

ATH 208

Transcript Title:

Introduction to Ethnography

Created:

Jul 25, 2022

Updated:

Jun 29, 2023

Total Credits:

4

Lecture Hours:

40

Lecture / Lab Hours:

0

Lab Hours:

0

Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:

Yes

Satisfies General Education requirement:

Yes

Grading Options

A-F, P/NP, Audit

Default Grading Options

A-F

Repeats available for credit:

0

Alignment with Institutional Learning Outcomes

Major

1. Communicate effectively using appropriate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. (Communication)

Major

2. Creatively solve problems by using relevant methods of research, personal reflection, reasoning, and evaluation of information. (Critical thinking and Problem-Solving)

Not Addressed

3. Extract, interpret, evaluate, communicate, and apply quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and support decisions in their academic, professional and private lives. (Quantitative Literacy)

Major

4. Use an understanding of cultural differences to constructively address issues that arise in the workplace and community. (Cultural Awareness)

Major

5. Recognize the consequences of human activity upon our social and natural world. (Community and Environmental Responsibility)

To establish an intentional learning environment, Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) require a clear definition of instructional strategies, evidence of recurrent instruction, and employment of several assessment modes.

Major Designation

1. The outcome is addressed recurrently in the curriculum, regularly enough to establish a thorough understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a thorough understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Minor Designation

1. The outcome is addressed adequately in the curriculum, establishing fundamental understanding.
2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a fundamental understanding of the outcome.
   • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

The determination of assessment strategies is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: writings (journals, self-reflections, pre writing exercises, essays), quizzes, tests, midterm and final exams, group projects, presentations (in person, videos, etc), self-assessments, experimentations, lab reports, peer critiques, responses (to texts, podcasts, videos, films, etc), student generated questions, Escape Room, interviews, and/or portfolios.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

Outcome #1: Appreciate a broad perspective of human behavior.

• Explore applied methods in anthropology.
• Discuss the impact of globalization on indigenous and local cultures.
• Explore ethnographic study of a current-day culture, consisting of sequential research steps.

Outcome #2: Construct a view of culture that reflects how personal and social values are shaped by culture.

• Define the processes of enculturation, acculturation, and assimilation.
• Explore supernaturalism: religion, magic, science, and worldview.
• Discuss culture patterns using anthropological criteria such as political organization, kinship structures, subsistence methods, etc.

Outcome #3: Apply current understanding of anthropological methods and theories.

• Introduce anthropological theory and methods.
• Discuss examples of diachronic and synchronic comparative studies of culture.
• Investigate economic systems, including reciprocity.
• Discuss the application of anthropological theory and methodology in different cultures.
• Explore the process of preparing for field research and conducting ethnographic projects.

Outcome #4: Appreciate existing global cultural diversity.

• Survey cultural diversity in a variety of environments.
• Explore cultural adaptation, including independent invention and cultural diffusion.
• Discuss ecology and subsistence methods, including subsistence failure.
• Identify kinship and family structures
• Define personal and collective identity, sex and gender roles, and group affiliations.

Outcome #5: Recognize the role of ethnocentrism in reducing bias and prejudice in cultural misunderstanding.

• Define ethnocentrism, holism, comparative method, worldview, and cultural relativism.
• Explore language and communication differences, including kinesics.
• Discuss authority, law, and politics.
• Explore data from field research in order to produce meaningful answers to research questions.

Suggested Texts and Materials

• Allard-Kropp, M. (2020). Languages and Worldview. University of Missouri, St. Louis. (OER)
• Briggs, C.L. (2012). Learning How to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role of the Interview in Social Science Research. Cambridge University Press
• Giampietro Gobo, G., & Molle, A. (2017). Doing Ethnography.SAGE Publications Ltd.
• Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I., & Shaw, L.L. (2011).  Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Second Edition. University of Chicago Press
• Harrison, A.K. (2018). Introduction to Ethnography. Oxford Scholarship.
• Kirner, K. & Mills, J. (2019). Introduction to Ethnographic Research: A Guide for Anthropology. SAGE Publications.
• Lofland, J.,Snow, D.A., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L.H. (2005). Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis 4th Edition. Wadsworth Publishing.
• Westbrook, D.A. (2008). Navigators of the Contemporary: Why Ethnography Matters. University of Chicago Press.