Performing Ethnography and the Politics of Culture

This course introduces students to the practice of fieldwork observation (ethnography) as a research method to investigate how culture is enacted and communities are formed and sustained. Regular opportunities to observe and participate in Black cultural events and institutions in and around Providence. Opportunities to sample local cuisines and to visit community gardens, religious institutions, and other cultural sites will develop students' capacity to conduct research. These experiences, combined with the course readings and other assignments, will teach students how to analyze and disseminate their findings in writing and through a final creative project.