ANTH165

Arts & Sciences

ANTH

165

This introductory course provides a foundational understanding of ethnographic methods as tools for exploring the hidden rules and meanings within everyday life and culture. Students will learn core fieldwork techniques—including participant-observation, ethnographic interviews, and systematic field note-taking—to analyze the social worlds around them, from campus rituals to community groups. The course actively cultivates creative critical inquiry by emphasizing reflexivity: the self-awareness required to analyze how your own positionality shapes the research process and to develop and support a credible ethnographic hypothesis. Through hands-on exercises and a final Mini-Ethnographic Research Project, students will gain practical experience in data collection and analysis, applying methods to topics of their choice. Finally, the course introduces the ethical and practical dimensions of community-engaged and participatory research, preparing students to use anthropology for real-world understanding and collaborative problem-solving. This course meets the Student Learning Outcomes required for the ESBI and CCTH core curriculum.