AN486      Half Unit
Research Methods in Anthropology

This information is for the 2024/25 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Mathijs Pelkmans Old.5.08

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in Anthropology and Development, MSc in China in Comparative Perspective and MSc in Social Anthropology. This course is not available as an outside option.

Course content

The aim of this course is to provide students with insight into the process by which anthropological knowledge is produced, and to train them in the collection, analysis, and presentation of qualitative data. The course is centred on the ‘participant observation’ approach, and uses this as a starting point for discussing various aspects of the research cycle, including project design, ethical research, observational techniques, fieldnote taking, ethnographic interviewing, sensory ethnography and narrative analysis. Throughout the course, students will test their grasp of methodological issues by carrying out fieldwork exercises, about which they will report in seminars, and which will form the basis for assessment alongside knowledge of the literature.

Teaching

10 hours of lectures, 15 hours of seminars and 10 hours of help sessions in the WT.

The lectures will be offered asynchronically online, in the format of mini-lectures, interviews, debates, demonstrations, and task descriptions. Help sessions are optional, offering students to informally discuss aspects of their project.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the WT.

Indicative reading

  • Amit, Vered. 2003. Constructing the Field: Ethnographic Fieldwork in the Contemporary World;
  • Atkinson, Paul. 2015. For Ethnography;
  • Cerwonka, Allaine, and Liisa H. Malkki. 2008. Improvising theory: Process and Temporality in Ethnographic Fieldwork;
  • DeWalt, Kathleen, and Billie DeWalt. 2010. Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers;
  • Faubion, J., and G. E. Marcus (eds.). 2009. Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be: Transition in Anthropology's Culture of Method;
  • Ghodsee, Kirsten. 2016. From notes to narrative: Writing ethnographies that everyone can read;
  • Konopinski, Natali (ed.) 2014. Doing Anthropological Research: A practical guide;
  • Robben, Antonius and A. Sluka (eds.). 2007. Ethnographic Fieldwork: An anthropological reader;
  • Spradley, James. 1980. Participant observation.

Assessment

Essay (50%, 2000 words) and essay (50%, 2000 words) in the ST.

Students will write two 2,000-word essays (each worth 50%).

The first essay draws on the course literature to address a broad methodological question in anthropology, titles for which will be provided by the course convener.

The second essay  will consist of a descriptive analysis of the phenomenon that the student focused on in carrying out their fieldwork exercises.

Key facts

Department: Anthropology

Total students 2023/24: 26

Average class size 2023/24: 13

Controlled access 2023/24: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.

Personal development skills

  • Self-management
  • Problem solving
  • Application of information skills
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills