Ethnographic Fieldwork: The Politics of Schooling

3 units

This is a practice-based course in ethnographic fieldwork. Using a local case study (the cultural politics of schooling), we examine ethnographic fieldwork as an academic instrument and public social action. The course prepares students for independent research in academic or professional fields developing skills in critical thought, thesis and question development, background and internet research, perspective and empathy, social and political-economic analysis, observation, interviewing, oral histories, note-taking, data analysis, cultural interpretation, and writing. Student work will contribute to the ongoing St. Louis Schools' Ethnographic Documentation Project.