JOUR 8513 or ANTH 8810, "Ethnographic Methods in Mass Communication Research," MW, 12:45-2:00, Spring 2009. Led by Professor Mark Pedelty

Registration

Registration is no longer open for this course. It will be offered again at a date to be determined.

Description

Ethnography has become increasingly important to the study of media, from
classic newsroom studies to online "virtual ethnographies." Nevertheless,
the term means different things to different disciplines, from the
anthropologists' emphasis on long-term fieldwork, participant observation,
and integration of multiple methodologies, to the more textual orientations
of Cultural Studies scholars. We will discuss how the methodology differs
from discipline to discipline, using the seminar as an interdisciplinary
forum to think about the study of media cultures, texts, institutions, and
systems. Students do not need to be ethnographers in order to benefit from
the seminar. Relatively few researchers are. The goal is to learn to think
ethnographically.

A central goal of the seminar is to assess ethnographic texts as examples of
writing. In the process each student will become a better writer and find
new ways to approach his or her research. As one of the Graduate School's
designated Interdisciplinary Dissertation-Writing Seminars, it is intended for doctoral students across the disciplines who are planning and writing their dissertations. Students will actively share written work and provide feedback in a
supportive atmosphere.

Professor Pedelty is in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication.