Tag Archives: ethnography

Studying Science, Studying Up

When I began my research at the bioscience facility at the University of Prince Edward Island—it’s also the campus where I teach—I didn’t have a particular audience in mind. At the time I was much more concerned with making the most of my opportunity to “study up,” in Laura Nader’s phrase. Toward the end, though, when I did have to start thinking about “writing culture,” and for whom, the idea of aiming for a primarily undergraduate audience, especially students in their first and second year, seemed like a good way to address problems I encounter as an instructor… read more…

  • dateAugust 5, 2014
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  • posted byUdo Krautwurst
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Ethnography and its Promises, Uncertain or Otherwise: Highlights from CASCA 2014

The cupcakes have been eaten, the rhino gone to bed, and CASCA 2014 has come to an end. This year’s organizers should be proud at the stellar lineup they put together. Conference-goers had plenty of options to keep busy. After all was said and done, though, it was ethnography that kept emerging as the major preoccupation of the conference—what is it, how does one do it well, and, in the end, does it matter? read more…

  • dateMay 5, 2014
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  • posted byAnne
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Author Interview (In Four Short Videos): Andrew Walsh

When it comes to ethnographies that have proven to be successful in the classroom, one of the most popular books that we’ve seen in the last two years is Made in Madagascar: Sapphires, Ecotourism, and the Global Bazaar. Now that the current semester is rolling to a stop and book orders for January courses are starting to appear, we thought it would be a good time to share the following video interview with the author, Andrew Walsh. read more…

  • dateDecember 11, 2013
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  • posted byAnna
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The Research Portfolio Project

I’ve experimented with several types of assignments over the years. The one I keep coming back to is the “research portfolio.” This requires students to begin amassing information on an ethnographic subject that interests them while reflecting on the way they learn. There is no final term paper. The idea is that the project doesn’t end with the class but continues indefinitely into the future… read more…

  • dateNovember 11, 2013
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  • posted byJohn Barker
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Author Interview: John Barker

In the past several years, Ancestral Lines: The Maisin of Papua New Guinea and the Fate of the Rainforest has become one of the most popular ethnographies for first-year undergraduate courses in North America. The author, John Barker, shares his motivation for writing the ethnography, how he consciously designed it to work with or without a supporting textbook, and how he approaches undergraduate teaching. read more…

  • dateSeptember 26, 2013
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  • posted byAnna
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