Professor Ann Marie Leshkowich
Beaven 231
793-2788
aleshkow@holycross.edu
Office Hours: M 1-4, W 1-2:45, F 1-2

 

Course Description

Anthropological research methods -- participant observation, ethnographic fieldwork, thick description -- are perhaps what most distinguishes anthropology from other fields of study. These methods are often highly personal, as each researcher develops particular relationships and perspectives which profoundly shape fieldwork and the conclusions to be drawn from it. Because of this, anthropologists have often thought that methods couldn't be taught. Training to be an anthropologist consisted of studying other people's ethnographies, formulating your own research questions, and then going to "the field" to find out what you could about those questions. One could only learn how to do research by doing research, the conventional wisdom held, so why bother teaching it? You went to the field, dove into your project, and either sank or swam. If you swam, you came back and were treated by your professors as a full-fledged anthropologist; you had survived the rite of initiation and would now tell your own students that the only way to learn anthropology was to do it on your own.

This course takes a different approach. While anthropological research is best learned by doing, there is absolutely no reason why one needs to do this alone. My goal for this semester is to guide you step-by-step through your own ethnographic research project in Worcester. We'll start by considering how one formulates research questions. Next, we'll look at how one devises a project proposal. We'll talk about how one builds relationships in the fieldsite and explore the scholarly and ethical dilemmas which accompany fieldwork. You'll learn about a variety of methodological techniques, including censuses, use of newspapers and other secondary sources, semi-structured interviewing, life history interviewing, network analysis, focus groups, and participant observation. We'll also consider anthropological research equipment, from the tried and true notebook and pen, to computers, tape recorders, still cameras, and video cameras. Finally, we'll consider how you can take all of your field data, analyze it in light of the scholarly literature, and present it as a finished ethnography. By the end of the semester, you will be well on your way to becoming an anthropologist.

In addition to formulating and discussing research projects, we will read a variety of ethnographic texts to evaluate the approaches to research and writing that anthropologists have commonly used. Themes to be explored include poverty, race, youth cultures, class, community, medical anthropology, and postmodernity.

 

Class meetings

The class meets one time per week and follows a seminar format. Students will be expected to attend all class meetings (attendance will be taken), to complete the readings as scheduled on the syllabus, to come to class prepared to engage in a focused discussion of the issues raised by the readings, and to report on your own fieldwork on light of those issues.

 

Course Requirements

Course grades will be based on written work and class participation, broken down as follows:

1. Journal and Fieldnotes (30%)

Throughout the semester, you will keep a field journal in which you will record your observations, interview notes, and responses to the class readings and discussions. You may keep the journal in any format which you find convenient for recording things as they occur and for noting down your ideas, but you will then need to "write up" your notes by transforming your journal entries into clear, typewritten prose. This should also include completing the ethnography response form in which you comment on the readings for each week. It is these notes which you will submit to me weekly in class. I will return them to you with comments and a grade. Note: Fieldnotes will not be due in week 7 (research proposals due) and in weeks 13 and 14 (final presentations).

2. Class Discussion and Participation (15%)

This advanced seminar promotes an active approach to learning. Not only are you required to attend all class meetings, but you will be expected to engage actively in group discussions in ways which demonstrate your critical reflection on the readings. You will also be required to explore the themes of the course by conducting an independent ethnographic research project. Because involvement in class activities is so important, more than one unexcused absence during the semester will result in the lowering of your participation grade by two percentage points for each additional class missed.

3. Research Proposal (5%)

On March 1, you will be required to submit a 5-7 page research proposal, similar to the ones graduate students and researchers use to request funding for fieldwork. Your proposal should clearly and concisely state the topic you will investigate, the methods you will use, the key questions you will ask, and how your research will contribute to the scholarly literature. Proposal guidelines and models will be posted to the website and discussed in class.

4. Oral Presentation of Research Results (10%)

All students will be required to present their research results at the Annual Holy Cross Academic Conference, to be scheduled for Friday, April 28 in the afternoon. Presentations will consist of oral descriptions of your project and preliminary findings, as well as questions and answers with spectators. (For more info, click here.) In addition, the final two class sessions will be devoted to presentations of your final research papers. Together, these presentations will count for 10% of your grade.

5. Final Ethnography (40%)

At the end of the semester, you will complete a final paper (25-30 pages) based on your ethnographic research. Final papers will be due on Wednesday, May 10 by 5 p.m. Unexcused late papers will be penalized one portion of a grade (e.g. an A becomes an A-) for each day late.

 

Grade Calculation

The final paper and course grades will be calculated according to a 100-point scale. The grading scale is as follows:

A, 93 and above	C+, 77-79.99
A-, 90-92.99	C, 73-76.99
B+, 87-89.99	C-, 70-72.99
B, 83-86.99	D+, 67-69.99
B-, 80-82.99	D, 60-66.99
	F, 59.99 and below

Office Hours

My office hours are listed at the top of this syllabus, and I encourage you to visit with me during the semester. I am available to discuss specific issues arising from the course, as well as to exchange more general insights and chat about experiences from your studies or my research.

 

Course Website (http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/aleshkow/methods/methods.html )

The website for this course is a center for important information: syllabus, writing assignments, study guide questions, essay questions, and announcements. Please check it frequently and feel free to pass along suggestions for additional links and information which should be included. Also, check out my homepage at:
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/aleshkow/homepage.html

 

Readings

Readings marked "article" on the syllabus are available through ERes. The course password is anth310. The following books are required for the course and can be purchased at the bookstore:

Stack, Carol. All Our Kin. 1997. New York: Basic Books. ISBN: 0061319821
Bourgois, Philippe. In Search of Respect. 1995. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521017114
Thornton, Sarah. 1996. Club Cultures. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN: 0819562971
Bettie, Julie. 2003. Women Without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity. University of California Press. ISBN: 0-520-23542-8
Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2002. Nickel and Dimed. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 0-8050-6389-7
Nathan, Rebekah. 2005. My Freshman Year. ISBN: 0-8014-4397-0
Farmer, Paul. 1993. AIDS and Accusation. University of California Press. ISBN: 0520083431
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. 1993. Death without Weeping. University of California Press. ISBN: 0520075374
Lutz, Catherine. Homefront. 2001. Beacon Press. ISBN: 0807055093

 

Course Schedule (Note: Readings may change in accordance with the evolving research interests of the group.)

Week 1: January 18
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE THEMES OF THE COURSE
Discussion of course requirements and research topics.
Methods Topic: Selecting a site, keeping fieldnotes, ethical considerations

 

TOPIC ONE: RACE AND POVERTY IN THE US
Many of you have expressed an interest in investigating the intersections between race, class, and poverty in the US. Our first three sessions will be devoted to understanding theoretical and ethnographic approaches to class. Is there such a thing as a "culture of poverty"? What is the connection between race and class in the United States? How does the construction of class vary cross-culturally?

Week 2: January 25
AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THE CULTURE OF POVERTY
Reading: Stack, All Our Kin
Harvey and Reed, "The Culture of Poverty: An Ideological Analysis" (article)
Methods Topic: First steps of participant observation, collecting demographic data, kinship analysis, constructing a research proposal
Writing: First set of fieldnotes due.

Week 3: February 1
RACE, DRUGS, AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
Reading: Bourgois, In Search of Respect
Methods Topic: Using newspapers, the ethics of researching illegal or questionable practices
Writing: Second set of fieldnotes due.

 

TOPIC TWO: YOUTH CULTURES
Popular culture and the related issues of music, consumption, youth, and identity have recently become important topics in anthropology. We'll address these issues by focusing on youth culture. How do particular groups form identities around shared cultural and consumption practices? How do individuals construct a sense of subjectivity through their engagement with popular culture? How is youth culture related to other elements of identity, such as race, class, and gender? Why do youth cultural practices generate such concern (moral panics) among non-youth?

Week 4: February 8
RAVES AND SUBCULTURES
Reading: Thornton, Club Cultures
Methods Topic: Focus groups, how much participation is necessary for participant observation?
Writing: Third set of fieldnotes due.

Week 5: February 15
RACE, GENDER, AND CLASS IN YOUTH CULTURE
Reading: Bettie, Girls Without Class
Methods Topic: Structured interviewing, still cameras
Writing: Fourth set of fieldnotes due.

Week 6: February 22
COLLEGE CULTURE
Reading: Nathan, My Freshman Year
Methods Topic: Ethical obligations, domestic spaces
Writing: Fifth set of fieldnotes due.

Week 7: March 1
RESEARCH PROPOSALS
Reading: No reading this week
Methods Topic: Student presentations on research proposals.
Writing: Research proposals due.

March 8: Spring Break, no class.

 

TOPIC THREE: WORKING AND COMMUNITY IN THE US
Building on our discussions of race and poverty, we will turn to contemporary issues of working, class, and community in the United States. What are the struggles contemporary workers face? How do economic, social, and cultural factors shape their experiences? What forms of community develop? What are the connections between individuals' experiences, community forms, and broader structures of economics or government? What impact does reliance on a primary source of employment or sector of the economy have on a community?

Week 8: March 15
WORKING POOR
Reading: Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed
Methods Topic: Life histories, a day in the life, tape recorders, exploring work, home, and school
Writing: Sixth set of fieldnotes due.

Week 9: March 22
A MILITARY COMMUNITY
Reading: Lutz, Homefront
Methods Topic: History and secondary sources
Writing: Seventh set of fieldnotes due.

 

TOPIC FOUR: MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Medical science. Spirit-induced illness. Death and poverty. Pandemics. Healthy bodies. Maternal insinct. While the word "medicine" typically refers to medical science as practiced by M.D.'s, medical anthropology explores the variety of theories and practices associated with the body and illness. How do notions of bodily function and dysfunction vary across cultures? Is medical science really distinct or "better" than other belief systems? How are perceptions of health and disease affected by sociocultural factors such as poverty and race? How are ideas about bodily experience used to constitute or control communities? What behaviors and emotions can be said to be biological or instinctive?

Week 10: March 29
AIDS
Reading: Farmer, AIDS and Accusation
Methods Topic: Network Analysis (people and things), narratives, internet
Writing: Eighth set of fieldnotes due.

Week 11: April 5
POVERTY, DISEASE, AND MOTHERING
Reading: Scheper-Hughes, Death without Weeping
Stacey, "Can There be a Feminist Ethnography?" (article)
Methods Topic: Dealing with sensitive, painful information
Writing: Ninth set of fieldnotes due.

 

TOPIC FIVE: POSTMODERN PERSPECTIVES
As anthropologists find their traditional object of study (small, isolated, homogenous communities) to be disappearing, if they ever existed at all, they must also confront the idea that culture may not be so clearly shared or coherent. Moreover, how one views one's own culture depends very much on one's perspective. Vantage point also influences the anthropologist. Two researchers could investigate the same topic in the same place by talking to the same people and come up with very different ethnographies. Postmodern anthropology takes as its premise the lack of certainty and coherence surrounding culture and the process of investigating it. What are the strengths and weaknesses of postmodern approaches to anthropology? Does recognizing the uncertainty of knowledge mean we can't know anything? How can anthropologists consider issues of subjectivity, both their own and those of their informants?

Week 12: April 12
POSTMODERN APPROACHES TO ETHNOGRAPHY
Reading: Clifford, "Introduction: Partial Truths" from Writing Culture (article)
Pratt, "Fieldwork in Common Places" from Writing Culture (article)
Abu-Lughod, "Introduction" in Writing Women's Worlds (article)
Methods Topic: What is ethnography anyway?
Writing: Tenth set of fieldnotes due.

Week 13: April 19
No readings this week. ***Student Presentations in Preparation for Academic Conference***

Week 14: April 26
No readings this week. ***Student Presentations in Preparation for Academic Conference***

Friday afternoon, April 28
Academic Conference Presentations

Wednesday, May 10
FINAL PAPERS DUE by 5 p.m. in Professor Leshkowich's office (Beaven 231).

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu