300651 Ethnographic Research Methods (MA: Soziologie der globalen Welt) (S) (SoSe 2026)

You will be trained in the practical and theoretical elements of anthropological methods. You are then required to apply this training to your own chosen piece of ethnographic research. By the end of the course you are expected to:

 be familiar with anthropological methods and how they are applied to research.
 be aware of the relationship between anthropological methods and specific modes of enquiry
 be familiar with some key debates surrounding anthropological methods
 be aware of your own role in the research process and able to critically reflect on the role of other ethnographers in their research.
 have developed skills in conducting ethnographic research and ethnographic writing

All students are expected to be regularly present in the sessions and participate in activities and discussion

Requirements for participation, required level

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.

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.