300654 Ethnographic research methods (S) (SoSe 2020)

Ethnographic Research Methods Outline

What makes Social Anthropology different from other social science disciplines? It is its methods of collecting data, of analysing and interpreting the data collected, and the methods and techniques of writing up the research. Ethnographic Research Methods in introduces you to the main methods that are commonly applied in Social Anthropology and the central issues of the anthropological research process. The course has three objectives:

1. To introduce the scope and nature of anthropological methods and modes of enquiry

2. To make clear the role participants and researchers play in the research process.

3. To guide students through the application of the methods to an individually chosen research question.

This course is aimed at master level students who are interested in learning about different research methods used in social anthropology, and how these can be come together as ethnography. In this course, you will undertake your own small-scale research project on a topic of your choice, practicing the techniques you will learn in class. This is a course where learning by doing is essential and of equal importance to reading and library work.

For students who feel that doing this in English may be challenging, this is a good opportunity to think through some practical issues in English and practise academic and reflective writing in English.