SOAN 200 - Qualitative Research Methods

Taught by: Kim Cameron-Domínguez

Content: In this course students will be introduced to the practice and politics of ethnographic research. Our purpose is threefold: we seek to understand how anthropologist study, think, and write about cultures. Primarily, this endeavor focuses on doing ethnographic research. Through a series of experiential and written exercises, students will employ and experiment with various research methods including 1) participant observation, 2) fieldnotes, 3) interviewing, and 4) technologies for facilitating library-based research. Second, students must think critically about what it means to encounter the materiality and meaning of other people’s social lives, as well as their role and responsibility in its co-production and interpretation. To this end, we will attend to the ways in which anthropological theory can 1) inform the development of research problems, 2) guide research strategies, 3) assist in the examination and interpretation of meaning, and 4) help us to unpack the implication of identity, representation, power and ethics. This course is writing intensive. In order to hone students’ skills and demonstrate a rigorous engagement with and understanding of the research and writing process, you will 1) produce and process fieldnotes and interviews throughout the semester, 2) Submit weekly assignments, 3) practice responding to institutional requirements, and 4) submit an ethnographic research paper of 10 pages as part of the final portfolio.

This is a research-based course. Students should expect to spend out-of-class time commensurate with a lab in order to conduct fieldwork (approximately 15 hours in the field over the course of 6 visits).

Generic Catalog Description for SOAN 200: The philosophical roots of social science research, nature of research materials in the social sciences, issues involved in their collection and interpretation. Ethical dimensions of research. Ethnographic methods including participant observation, interviewing, careful attention to language. Application of these methods in research projects in the local community. Enrollment preference given to departmental majors fulfilling degree requirements.

Prerequisite: SOAN 100 or SOAN 110.

Semester Credits: 4

Meeting Times: MTWTh 11:10-1:10 p.m.

Conatct: camerondominguez@lclark.edu