SOAN 299 | Ethnographic Methods

Ethnography is the study of human cultures. Ethnographic methods are the constellation of research tools that anthropologists (and nowadays, many others) use in exploring, understanding, and writing about human cultures. This course introduces students to the methodological craft of ethnographic inquiry, and includes an examination of the historical development of this methodological toolkit, the theoretical implications of this approach to research, the ethical considerations paramount to ethnographic research, and the practical concerns involved in "doing" ethnography. Students will have the opportunity to practice and deploy these research methods in fieldwork settings in the greater Tacoma area. The course is structured around the design and implementation of an independent research project that utilizes these methods for anthropological inquiry.