Introductory description

Ethnography, or ‘participant observation’ as it is sometimes glossed, has proven a valuable approach for sociologists seeking to apprehend a world in flux. However, it is often mischaracterised as a method rather than a theoretical tradition in its own right. This module addresses the key ethical, practical and theoretical debates in which ethnography is grounded, for sociology and other cognate disciplines like social anthropology. The module explores the historical development of ethnography, particularly in terms of its deployment by early twentieth century anthropologists like Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski, as well as innovations pioneered by the early ‘Chicago school’ sociologists, the Mass Observation movement in Britain and then, after the Second World War, the development of the Manchester School of Anthropology by Max Gluckman, and the emergence of 'community studies' in Britain. The module also engages with contemporary scholarly debates, beginning with the so-called ‘crisis’ in ethnographic writing, provoked by the ‘reflexive turn’ of the 1980s. It will consider arguments for collaborative ethnography and multi-sited fieldwork, as well problems of ethnographic authority and representation. We will conclude the module with a reassessment of ethnography as theory, (rather than method, or mere 'description'), in order to consider the potential and promise of ethnography for a globally-orientated sociology of twenty-first century life.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Ethnography, or ‘participant observation’ as it is sometimes glossed, has proven a valuable approach for sociologists seeking to apprehend a world in flux. However, it is often mischaracterised as a method rather than a theoretical tradition in its own right. This module addresses the key ethical, practical and theoretical debates in which ethnography is grounded, for sociology and other cognate disciplines like social anthropology. The first part of the module explores the historical development of ethnography, particularly in terms of its deployment by early twentieth century anthropologists like Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski as well as innovations pioneered by the early ‘Chicago school’ sociologists, the ‘mass observation’ movement in Britain and then, after the Second World War, the development of the Manchester School of Anthropology by Max Gluckman and the emergence of 'community studies' in Britain. The second part of the module engages with contemporary scholarly debates, beginning with the so-called ‘crisis’ in ethnographic writing provoked by the ‘reflexive turn’ of the 1980s. It considers arguments for collaborative ethnography and multi-sited fieldwork, particularly in relation to Michael Burawoy's recent calls for public sociology, as well as the literature on so-called ‘new’ ethnographic objects. The module concludes with a reassessment of ethnography as theory (rather than method, or mere 'description') in order to consider the potential and promise of
ethnography for a globally-orientated sociology of twenty-first century life.

TOPICS BY WEEK:

1. Introduction to the module: ethnography, sociology and the anthropological tradition
   Ethnography: its historical development
2. Franz Boas, Bronislaw Malinowski and Edmund Leach: the origins of anthropology
3. John Dewey and the 'Chicago School': the case study approach in sociology
4. Participant observation and everyday life: the legacy of the Mass Observation Archive
5. Post-WWII innovation: community studies and the 'Manchester School' of anthropology
   Ethnography: contemporary debates
6. Writing Culture and the reflexive turn: the postcolonial critique of ethnographic authority
7. Michael Burawoy and public sociology: multi-sited fieldwork and the extended case study
8. Democracy, neoliberalism and biotechnology: 'new' ethnographic objects in a post-Cold War world

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of ethnography in the development of sociology and social anthropology, as well as the social sciences more generally, and understand its contemporary application within the discipline
• 2. Compare, contrast and critically assess the main ethical, practical and theoretical debates that ethnography generates for sociology, social anthropology and the social sciences
• 3. Critically apply their knowledge of historical and contemporary innovations in ethnography to current issues and topics within the field

Indicative reading list

Benson, Michaela (2011) The British in Rural France: lifestyle migration and th eongoing quest for
a better way of life. Manchester: Manchester University Press
Burawoy, Michael (2009) The Extended Case Method: Four Countries, Four Decades, Four Great
Transformations, and One Theoretical Tradition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
Burawoy, Michael, et al. (2000) Global Ethnography: forces, connections and imaginations in a
postmodern world. Berkeley: University of California Press
Burawoy, Michael, et al. (1991) Ethnography Unbound: power and resistance in the modern
metropolis. Berkeley: University of California Press
Candea, Matei (2007) ‘Arbitrary locations: in defense of the bounded field-site’, Journal of the
Royal Anthropological Institute 13 (1): 167-184
Clifford, James (1988) The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth Century Ethnography, Literature,
and Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Clifford, James and George E. Marcus, eds. (1986) Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of
Ethnography. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press
Das, Veena (1997) Critical Events: An Anthropological Perspective on Contemporary India. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Edwards, Jeanette (2000) Born and Bred: Idioms of Kinship and New Reproductive Technologies in
England. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Graeber, David (2009) Direct Action: An Ethnography. Oakland, CA: AK Press
Greenhouse, Carol J., ed. (2009) Ethnographies of Neoliberalism. Philadelphia, PA: University of
Pennsylvania Press
Greenhouse, Carol J. (2011) The Paradox of Relevance: Ethnography and Citizenship in the United
States. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press
Hubble, Nick (2010) Mass Observation and Everyday Life: culture, history, theory. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan
Jackson, Brian and Dennis Marsden (1962) Education and the Working Class. London: Routledge
Malinowski, Bronislaw (2010) Argonauts of the western Pacific; an account of native enterprise
and adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. Oxford: Benediction Classics
Marcus, George E. (1998) Ethnography through Thick and Thin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press
Murphy, Fiona and Mark Maguire (2012) Integration in Ireland: the everyday lives of African
migrants. Manchester: Manchester University Press
Nader, Laura (2011) ‘Ethnography as Theory’, HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 1 (1): 211-219
Pearson, Geoff (2012) An Ethnography of English Football Fans. Manchester: Manchester
University Press
Riles, Annelise (2001) The Network Inside Out. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press
Riles, Annelise (2006) Documents: Artifacts of Modern Knowledge. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press Sampson, Helen (2012) International seafarers and transnationalism in the twenty-first century. Manchester: Manchester University Press Savage, Mike (2010) Identities and Social Change in Britain since 1940: The Politics of Method. Oxford: Oxford University Press Smith, Alexander (2011) Devolution and the Scottish Conservatives: banal activism, electioneering and the politics of irrelevance. Manchester: Manchester University Press

Interdisciplinary

The module draws on a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, social anthropology, history, English literature and cultural studies.

International

The ethnographic texts and case studies the module explores are drawn from around the world.

Subject specific skills

Students will demonstrate:
A systematic understanding of key aspects of their field of study, including acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of defined aspects of a discipline
An ability to deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within a discipline and a conceptual understanding that enables the student to devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and
techniques, some of which are at the forefront of a discipline
An ability to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline
An appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge
The ability to manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the discipline)

Transferable skills

Students will be able to:
Apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects
Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem
Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

They will have the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring:
The exercise of initiative and personal responsibility
Decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts
The learning ability needed to undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature.