This is a combined theory and methods course designed to introduce students to the Ethnography of Communication. There are three primary goals:

Class time will be spent in two ways -- discussion of readings and, equally importantly, discussion of students' ongoing research projects, including application of concepts in the reading to data students have collected. Students are expected to complete an ethnographic project suitable for eventual journal submission. Because ethnographies are time consuming, students should begin thinking immediately about a culture, subculture, or group of adequate interest (and accessibility) to study. Because we learn not only by our own doing, but also by the experiences of our peers, students are expected to treat the class as a collaborative workshop in which we can work through issues we face in conducting our ethnographies.

There are four required books and a reading packet. The books are:

Hammersley & Atkinson (1983). Ethnography: Principles in Practice, Tavistock Publications.

Hammersley (1998). Reading Ethnographic Research: A Critical Guide, Second Edition. Longman.

Spradley (1980). Participant Observation. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.

Carbaugh (Ed.) (1990). Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact. Lawrence Erlbaum.

The reading packet is on reserve in the Communication Studies office (3090 Wescoe)

All students are expected to:

Notes: 17 times during the semester (i.e. most class meetings) you should come with 2-3 prepared paragraphs or a data sample to share with the class. Ideas for what you might write about are indicated below each meeting's readings. The purpose of these notes is to ensure that everyone comes to class prepared to share ideas regarding the readings and ongoing projects. For this reason, be sure you write about ideas or bring data, rather than writing about preferences (e.g. "I liked this" or "I didn’t like this"). You may miss two notes, but you shouldn't miss any. 15%.

Setting Description Paper: Early in the semester you need to select a setting to study. In this brief (3-5) page paper, you should offer a rich description of the setting, culture, or subculture you have chosen. You will present an informal oral version of this paper to the class so we can become familiar with one another's' projects. 10%.

Presentation of an Analysis: Toward the end of the methodological readings, you should prepare a single analysis to present to the class. Instead of a full ethnography, this analysis might be of a single event, a participant's role(s) in the setting, a particular discourse form, or so on. The point is to select a single focus and develop a rich analysis of that focus. 15%.

Final Presentation: At the end of the semester you should present a formal (i.e. conference ready) version of your finished ethnography to the class. 10%.

Final Paper: At the end of the semester you will turn in a finished ethnography which, ideally, is one draft away from being submittable to a conference and/or journal. It is worth looking through journals and selecting one as a good target as you write the paper. Finished papers will probably be on the order of 20 pages. 50%.

Ideas for Notes: What questions do you have about this method? When do you think it is most appropriate? Least appropriate? What motivated you to take a class on the topic?

Ideas for Notes: What kind of context can you imagine conducting an ethnography about? How do Phillipsen's and/or Daniel and Smitherman's analyses demonstrate or differ from the model Hymes proposes? What are the strengths or weaknesses of Hymes's model?

Ideas for Notes: How is the culture of graduate school embodied in the language spoken here? How were you socialized into graduate school? What other socializing experiences have you had and what role has language played? What are the similarities and differences between Carey and Ortner's views of the relation of communication to culture?

Ideas for Notes: By now you should have selected a context in which to conduct your ethnography. What problems did you face or do you anticipate facing in formulating specific research problems or gaining access? What ethical issues seem most important to you? What is your relationship to the people you will study?

Hammersley Ch 1

Hammersley and Atkinson, Ch 1

Spradley, Ch 3

Ideas for Notes: What do you believe are the strengths of the ethnographic method? What do you think are the weaknesses? How would you justify conducting an ethnography to a committee member deeply committed to quantitative analysis?

Ideas for Notes: Looking back at the Phillipsen and Daniel and Smitherman readings, to what extent do they demonstrate, or fail to demonstrate, the qualities Hammersley and Silverman argue are so important to qualitative research? To what extent do you agree with their arguments?

Class discussions describing your setting of choice, reasons for your choice, possible communication phenomena of interest within the setting.

Ideas for Notes: What issues are you facing as you conduct your observations and make recordings? What questions do you have about Spradley's approach? How do you imagine you might select specific objects of analysis, or what objects do you know that you want to select?

Ideas for Notes: How does Hammersley and Atkinson's approach differ from Spradley's? In what ways are they similar? Which is most helpful to you? What issues regarding equipment do you have? What issues are you facing as you conduct your observations and make recordings?

Ideas for Notes: Bring in an example of fieldnotes you have written for the class to analyze.

Ideas for Notes: Develop an interviewing protocol to share with the class. Who do you anticipate interviewing and why have you selected those people?

Ideas for Notes: Both these authors take a more critical perspective on interviewing. To what extent do they shed light on or make you reconsider your own interviewing practices?

Ideas for Notes: How do people in your setting indicate their cultural identity? Bring in an example of discourse that is indicative of cultural identity.

Ideas for Notes: What are the cultural categories that seem to be at play in your setting? Who is on the inside and who are the outsiders? How is this accomplished discursively? Bring in an example of discourse for the class to consider.

Ideas for Notes: Bring a sample of conversation in your setting for the class to analyze in terms of participant structure. What are the main ways speakers seem to relate to words or to one another in your setting? What significance do they bear?

Ideas for Notes: What kinds of performances are valued in your setting? What cultural messages do those performances embody? Bring an example for the class to analyze.

Ideas for Notes: What are the important rituals in your setting? Bring a description of one. What kinds of identities are constructed for participants in these rituals? What is culturally significant about these rituals?

Ideas for Notes: Bring in an example of a narrative you have collected in the field for the class to analyze.

Heritage and Atkinson 9, Spradley 12